If their normal leader, Kane Williamson, is unable to become healthy in time for the ODI World Cup 2023, New Zealand would have a difficult time selecting a captain. On March 31, during the curtain-raiser of the current IPL 2023 game between the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings, Kane Williamson was hurt while playing the field.
The right anterior cruciate ligament in the Kiwi captain’s knee was torn, and he underwent successful surgery in April. The 32-year-old’s participation in the World Cup is doubtful because it will probably take him at least nine months to heal. When asked about potential alternatives for their usual captain, head coach Gary Stead mentioned Tom Latham and Test captain Tim Southee.
“That is something that needs to be resolved. Although Tom has a lot of prior white-ball experience for us, Tim serves as captain of the test team. According to stuff.co.nz, Stead stated, “I felt he captained pretty well [in Pakistan] with a number of men he didn’t know much about as well, and that’s always a challenge.
Since the final ODI World Cup in England in 2019, Latham has led New Zealand in 23 of the 46 games. Williamson did not take the opening batter into account when he resigned as Test captain in December 2022.
The southpaw’s second-string team recently competed in T20I and ODI series in Pakistan, drawing the T20I series 2-2 and losing the ODI series 1-4.
Head coach Stead is still optimistic that Kane Williamson can recover in time, and if not, he wants to use him as a mentor for the major competition.
According to reports, the ODI World Cup 2023 will take place from October 5 to November 19. However, the full schedule has not yet been released. Stead is therefore still awaiting the announcement of New Zealand’s schedule and is anxious to learn what sites and weather they will need to prepare for. After the current IPL season ends, the schedule is probably going to be released.
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