Kane Williamson Begins Batting Again But In Race Against Time To Be Fit For ODI World Cup 2023

Kane Williamson has been out of competitive cricket action after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during the IPL 2023 opener on March 31.

Kane Williamson has not given up hope of being fit in time to be part of the ODI World Cup 2023.

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Kane Williamson, the star New Zealand cricketer, has begun batting again on his way to a full recover after undergoing a surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. The right-handed batter, who has been out of competitive cricket action since the last four months, shared a video of himself facing throwdowns in the nets on Tuesday (August 1). 

"Nice to be back in the nets with the bat in hand for a few throws," Williamson captioned the video.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kane Williamson (@kane_s_w)

Notably, Williamson had sustained the injury while playing for Gujarat Titans in the opening match of IPL 2023 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He was positioned at the deep square leg fence and leaped in a bid to get to the ball the came from the bat of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Even though Williamson saved the six, he did not have a smooth landing and had to leave the field only to be ruled out of the remainder of the competition.

While initial reports had suggested that even if he is ruled out of the World Cup in India, he might still travel with New Zealand as a mentor, later it was learnt that the 32-year-old was seriously considering a come back ahead of the World Cup and had not lost hope of a recovery. 

"Very much just trying to keep it week-to-week at the moment," Williamson had said in June in a video shared by New Zealand Cricket in June.

"To have a focus and see some of those steps and tick some of those off keeps you quite motivated"

Hear from Kane Williamson about his rehabilitation progress since injuring his knee in March. pic.twitter.com/le1mjneu2h

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 26, 2023

"I haven't had such a long-term injury before but talking to other people that have, the journey is a bit of a long one so if you look too far ahead, it probably can become a little bit daunting.

"Whereas, one week at a time, ticking off those small markers, those little wins that are nice to experience. But also knowing that the journey won't be completely smooth and you have a few setbacks along the way that you have to navigate," he added.

There is only an outside chance though for Williamson to regain fitness back in time for the World Cup.