Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson (Image Credit: Twitter)

Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach, Trevor Bayliss has revealed the reason for the exclusion of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson from their first match of IPL 2021 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday in Chennai.

Trevor Bayliss reveals that Williamson was not match-fit by Sunday and that he needs some more time to recover from his elbow injury which ruled him out of the home matches against Bangladesh.

The coach also revealed that Kane Williamson, after his brilliant show last season and according to the team combination, would have started ahead of Jonny Bairstow against KKR, if he was fit. But, the Englishman made the most of his opportunity, albeit in a losing cause, smashing 55 runs off 40 balls keeping Sunrisers alive in the chase, while batting at number 4.

Kane Williamson, Jonny Bairstow
Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow. Image-Sportstar

“We just felt that Kane needed a little bit of extra time to get match fit and a little bit more time in the nets. He would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow obviously if that had occurred.

“But we aren’t too perturbed about that, Jonny has been in form recently in white-ball cricket here in India. Kane will obviously come into calculations as the tournament unfolds,” Trevor Bayliss said in the post-match press conference.

We felt we should reward the guys who finished it so well for us last year: Trevor Bayliss

The 2019 England’s World Cup-winning coach says that they are giving “reward” to players who did well for them last season when SRH qualified for the playoffs. Hence, Wriddhiman Saha, after his quickfire cameos at the top towards the end of the season in the UAE, maintained his place, while Bairstow was shifted down at number 4, his new-found place in T20 cricket for England as well.

Read More  PSL Live Streaming In India– When and Where To Watch Pakistan Super League Live In India? Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United, PSL 2024 Final
Trevor Bayliss
Trevor Bayliss[Photo: Twitter]

“At the moment what we wanted to do is reward the guys who finished the tournament last year. We got off to a slow start last tournament but came back well to reach the finals (playoffs). Someone like Saha opening and batting so well in that tournament we felt we should reward the guys who finished it so well for us last year.

“Depending on fitness and form, we know Jonny can open the batting and keep as well. It gives us options but yes he has done well for England at number 4 recently,” the 58-year-old stated.

The David Warner-led side came short of KKR’s score by 10 runs, despite the fifties from Bairstow, and Manish Pandey, and a late blitz from Abdul Samad. Now, they are set to challenge Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday.

Also Read: IPL 2021: He Is The Pro Version Of Suryakumar Yadav – Pragyan Ojha Says KKR Should Bat Dinesh Karthik In The Top-Order