Kane Williamson, who was playing his first match for the defending champions Gujarat Titans, suffered a serious knee injury. This happened during the team’s campaign opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday (March 31) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Kiwi batter was fielding on the boundary when he leaped in the air to catch the ball. Although he managed to stop it from going over the ropes at first, it later bounced back and touched the boundary ropes.
When the ball was coming toward him off Ruturaj Gaikwad‘s bat, he leaped in the air but fell badly and injured his knee. Then with assistance, the 32-year-old was taken out of the field to the dressing room. In his place, Sai Sudharsan came in as the Impact Player for the second innings.
Although the seriousness of the injury is not known yet, as per Sports Tak’s report, Williamson has been ruled out of this season’s cash-rich league. However, Gujarat Titans haven’t yet announced anything regarding Williamson.
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Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Gary Stead said Kane Williamson’s injury is “a big blow” for the national side. “You don’t wish it on anyone, let alone your captain of the white-ball team Kane Williamson. So, yeah, it’s a big blow for him and it’s a big blow for us,” Stead said.
Williamson played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) since his IPL debut and Gujarat is his first new IPL team. Due to a poor show in last year’s IPL, Williamson was released by the SRH, and Aiden Markram was made the captain.
Last season, Williamson scored 216 runs in 13 innings. Gujarat Titans signed him for his base price of INR 2 crore at the mini-auction last year. He joined the Orange Army in 2015 and captained them in 2018 and 2022. He also partially led the side in 2019 and 2021.
Talking about yesterday’s match, CSK posted 178/7 after being asked to bat first courtesy of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 92. During Gujarat’s run-chase, Shubman Gill slammed his half-century and later Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia’s cameos won the match for the defending champions.
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