ICC World Cup 2023: Will Kane Williamson travel with New Zealand to India despite being injured?

ICC World Cup 2023 will be held in India later this year. While New Zealand will participate, it will likely be without skipper Kane Williamson, who was injured during IPL 2023. However, he can still travel with the side during the tournament.

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New Zealand white-ball captain Kane Williamson is unlikely to play at the ICC World Cup later this year, but the injured batter could still travel to India for the marquee event as a team mentor. Head coach Gary Stead said he would "absolutely" look to use the experienced batter and limited-overs skipper in a mentor-type role.

Williamson is in rehab after successful surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee. The 32-year-old had suffered the injury while fielding in his debut game for the defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2023 Indian Premier League last month. Attempting to stop a six at the boundary, Williamson had jumped high and landed awkwardly, injuring his knee. Such was the severity of the injury that he had to be carried out of the field.

"It's still far too early to know. He's [Williamson] had the operation and, to date, what we know, that's been successful. So he is in the early stages of his rehab programme. It's non-weight-bearing, and he's in a brace. It's just meeting milestones as we go," Stead told reporters ahead of New Zealand's five-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Pakistan.

The injury has been all but ruled out the Black Caps skipper from the 50-over tournament, starting in October, as the expected recovery time of an ACL rupture is nine months. However, Stead is still optimistic. "Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it's unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don't want to rule out a person of his class and calibre, and the things he brings to this team, too early in case there is that chance still," added Stead.

New Zealand ended runner-up in the last two 50-over World Cups. Under Williamson's captaincy, the Black Caps lost the previous edition of the 50-over World Cup in 2019 on a boundary count to host England.

(With inputs from PTI)