Dubai: Giving some clarity on his injury, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on Thursday said that his hamstring is fine and he’ll be taking part in full training in ‘few days or so’ but elbow might still need ‘a little bit of time’ to get back to hundred per cent.
Williamson missed the final IPL 2021 league match for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) because of a hamstring niggle and there were some injury concerns for him ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup.
New Zealand play their first Super 12 game on October 26 against Pakistan in Sharjah, and the skipper feels it is enough time to recover.
“The hamstring is minor, it’s progressing nicely, so not too many concerns and we’ve still got plenty of time. So, yeah, hopefully in the next sort of few days or so, I’m taking basically full part in the training. So, it’s all good,” Williamson was quoted as saying by Espncricinfo.
The elbow complaint has been a long-standing issue for Williamson, forcing him to miss the ODI series at home against Bangladesh, the start of the first leg of IPL 2021 in India and the Edgbaston Test against England. After leading New Zealand to World Test Championship glory, he continued to manage his elbow and withdrew from the Hundred.
“The elbow – it has just been a bit of a slow-burner. Yeah, it has been quite frustrating for a long period of time. However, it has definitely improved a bit over the last two months I’ve had after the World Test Championship. In rehab, it has definitely seemed to move forward, which is refreshing, but still a little bit of time to get back to a 100 percent, but it’s definitely better,” he said.
The New Zealand captain also mentioned that he has been feeling some discomfort while gripping the bat and extending the elbow, but was pleased with his overall rehab in the last few months.
“Basically, just gripping and then extending. So, which you do a lot of obviously (while) batting and it has been frustrating certainly when it was at its worst. But the harder you grip and further you extend, the more it seems to be quite disruptive. Like I said there’s been a lot of improvement over the last three months, which is good,” said Williamson.
“That has really been the focus and I’m at the stage where I’m largely about to get through with some comfort and it’s nice to be able to focus a bit more on the cricketing side of things rather than having constant negotiations with physios,” he added.
Williamson, who was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s second-highest run getter in the second half of the IPL 2021, has already experienced the slow and low pitches in UAE. However, he feels conditions could change at the forthcoming World Cup and adjustments will be the key.
“They’ve varied a lot actually. Even a lot compared to what we experienced last summer when we had the whole tournament here (the UAE) and in previous years when we’ve played here as well. Something to be aware of; something certainly to prepare for and try and make those adjustments as quickly as possible and get comfortable with what realistic expectations are and what competitive totals are because it has not unfolded in that traditional T20 style at times,” the Kiwi cricketer said.
“But then we’ve had other days, in the IPL when we turned up to Abu Dhabi, the wicket looked very similar, but there was sort of an 80-run difference in what was perhaps a par total. It is really adjusting to what’s in front of you as quickly as possible and trusting in that judgement,” he added.
(IANS)