Wellington [New Zealand], April 26 : Kane Williamson might still travel to India for the ODI World Cup later this year, with team management keen to bring the injured batter as a mentor. Simultaneously, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has declined to rule Williamson out of the World Cup as a player.
Williamson returned home from India on crutches after suffering a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his right knee in the first game of IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans. He later underwent surgery, which was deemed successful. Williamson's knee is still braced as he recovers.
"Look, it is still far too early to know," Stead said ahead of the five-match ODI series in Pakistan as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"He has had the operation and, to date, what we know, that has been successful. So he is in the very, very early stages of his rehab programme."
"It is obviously pretty non-weight-bearing at this stage, and he is in a brace. So, it is really just meeting milestones as we go. Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it is unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly do not 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.
"Yeah, absolutely [would take him to India as a mentor]," concluded the coach.
The ODI World Cup is expected to begin on October 5 and end on November 19, with 12 Indian cities shortlisted as venues, although the exact schedule has yet to be revealed. The ICC usually announces World Cup plans at least a year in advance, but this time it has also been waiting for the BCCI to obtain crucial clearances from the Indian government. The wait for the schedule has thrown a wrench into New Zealand's long-term planning.
"It [schedule] is not out yet, so there is not much we can do about that," Stead said.
"So it does keep our options reasonably open without knowing the venues and who we are playing at different venues.
"So, it does make it pretty difficult to finalise plans right now. But that again just gives players opportunities, that are within the squad now, to come out here [in Pakistan] and play for New Zealand."
In the absence of Williamson and several other first-choice New Zealand players, Mark Chapman emerged from the shadows to knock an unbeaten 104 off 57 balls, enabling his team shoot down 194 to tie the T20I series 2-2 in Rawalpindi. According to Stead, Chapman was then included in New Zealand's ODI team and is also in contention for the ODI World Cup.
Chapman has only played five One-Day Internationals for New Zealand since making his debut in the format in 2018.
However, he is an excellent spin player, which is due in large part to his exposure to Asian and subcontinental conditions during his early years with Hong Kong.
"The [T20I] series result itself was fantastic for the team, if you consider the number of players that are at the IPL. And we were playing a full-strength Pakistan team - a team that made the T20 [World Cup] final. So, to get a two-all result against them and play the way we did, especially in the last T20 game, was fantastic.
"The Mark Chapman-James Neesham partnership was really, really significant. Obviously, it was not the best of starts with the bat, but the composure the two of them showed in that situation was brilliant. It was not just one knock about Mark Chapman why he was added to the ODI squad, but there is a lot of competition for places and it is not so much about the competition, but it is how we keep building towards the World Cup. And Mark Chapman is one guy who is in our thoughts around that."
The five-match ODI series against Pakistan will start from April 27 onwards.
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