Kane Williamson to miss rest of second NZ v PAK T20I; Tim Southee to lead New Zealand

Kane Williamson was retired hurt when he was batting at 26 runs.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will no longer take part in the ongoing second T20I against Pakistan, being played in Hamilton on Sunday. This is due to an injury he suffered while batting for his team and he had to retire hurt.

Williamson has suffered several injuries in recent months. He damaged his ACL in the first match of the IPL 2023 and returned barely in time to play the ODI World Cup in India six months later. He broke his thumb during the World Cup encounter against Bangladesh, requiring him to miss four more games before returning to face Pakistan.

He was picked in New Zealand’s T20I team for the home series against Bangladesh last month before being pulled due to ‘medical advice’. He played only two T20Is in the ongoing series against Pakistan and was scheduled to sit out for the last game in Dunedin.

Tim Southee captains New Zealand in absence of Kane Williamson

Meanwhile, Tim Southee will captain New Zealand side in the absence of Kane Williamson. Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan captain, who won the toss and choose to bowl first. Finn Allen top-scored with 74, while Williamson (26) and Mitchell Santner (25) also contributed to New Zealand’s final total of 194/8 in 20 overs. Haris Rauf of Pakistan took 3/38.  

After the 10th over, Williamson was seen getting attended to by the physio, with him clutching his right hamstring. During the drinks interval, he then trudged off with Daryl Mitchell coming out to bat in his place.

Williamson experienced tightness in his hamstring while completing a run in the tenth over, New Zealand Cricket statement said.

“Kane Williamson will not return to the field in KFC T20I 2 in Hamilton as a precautionary measure after experiencing tightness in his right hamstring while completing a run in the 10th over and retiring hurt,” NZC posted on X.

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