IPL 2021: Trevor Bayliss explains why Kane Williamson did not feature in SRH opener against KKR

Sunrisers Hyderabad is a former champion of the Indian Premier League, winning its only title in 2016. It was off to a shaky start in IPL 2021, losing its opening game to Kolkata Knight Riders. The side raised eyebrows after not including Kane Williamson in the playing XI.

The 2021 Indian Premier League is off to a colossal and thrilling start. On Sunday, in a clash of two former champions, Kolkata Knight Riders triumphed Sunrisers Hyderabad by ten runs in Match 3 at the MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai.

However, what was notable during the entire game was SRH's decision not to include Prolific New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson. Explaining the same, SRH head coach Trevor Bayliss said that the Kiwi skipper needs some time to gain his match fitness while he is set to be an integral part of SRH's plans for the season.

"Yeah, we just felt that Kane needs a little bit of extra time to get his match fitness. A little bit more time in the nets. He would have played in place of Jonny Bairstow if that had occurred. But, we weren't too perturbed about that," Bayliss explained after the game, reports ESPNCricinfo.

"Jonny has been in form, obviously, recently in white-ball cricket here in India. And, obviously, showed in how he batted well tonight. Kane will, obviously, certainly come into calculations as the tournament unfolds," he added.

Meanwhile, Bayliss also taught that Jonny Bairstow would be SRH's key man in the middle-order before Williamson is brought into the fray. "Obviously, depending on fitness and form and that kind of thing, we know Jonny can open the batting and keep wicket as well. It gives us a few options, but he has done well at No. 4 for England just recently," he asserted.

Bayliss also described the team's strategy to push all-rounder Vijay Shankar up the batting order instead of the talented Abdul Samad. "It is easy to sit back here after the fact, but Vijay, in the practice matches that we had, was our best player. He struck the ball beautifully. In one of the games, he got 95. He hit a lot of the balls long way over the fence," he concluded.