NZ vs BAN: Kane Williamson Confirms He Will Play Against Bangladesh

Kane Williamson has confirmed he will make his much-awaited return to competitive cricket in the upcoming game between New Zealand and Bangladesh. The Black Caps and the Bangla Tigers will lock horns against each other in the 11th match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. The match is scheduled to be played on Friday (October 13) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Kane Williamson has not played a competitive match since suffering a knee injury in the first match of IPL 2023 in March. He had to undergo surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. There were huge doubts over his participation in the ongoing World Cup but the star batsman managed to recover just in time to make it to the squad.

He played in both the warm-up games, scoring 54 retired against Pakistan and 37 against South Africa. However, he missed New Zealand’s first two games in the main competition as he was still not fully fit to play an ODI. But he has regained his full fitness and is now all set to make his much-awaited return to action this week. According to Cricbuzz, the New Zealand captain has confirmed that he will play against Bangladesh on Friday.

Who will make way for Kane Williamson?:

While New Zealand will be delighted to have Kane Williamson back, it will also make it tough for the team management to make room for the captain. When head coach Gary Stead was asked about it, he stated that a fit Williamson would definitely play but did not name the player who could make way for the captain.

“If Kane’s available, he will play, there’s no doubt about that, he’s one of the best players in the world and the discussions that we’re having at the moment is – how does that still fit? We, for example, played Jimmy Neesham in the first game, not the second … again, that was around the conditions we thought best suited the team at the time,” Stead said earlier this week.

In Williamson’s absence, Rachin Ravindra batted at number three against England and Netherlands and did well. While he scored a blazing unbeaten century against England, he scored a fine fifty against Netherlands. The openers – Devon Conway and Will Young – have performed well too.