Williamson retires hurt in 2nd T20I vs Pakistan; Southee named stand-in captain

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has retired hurt after experiencing tightness in his right hamstring while batting in the second T20I against Pakistan at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday.

A statement from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said Williamson will not return to the field as a precautionary measure, while adding that Tim Southee will captain New Zealand for the rest of the match.

“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. Tim Southee will take over as on field captain for the remainder of the match,” said NZC.

At the time of sustaining the right hamstring tightness, Williamson was batting on 26 off 15 balls, hitting three fours and a six. Ater the tenth over was completed, visuals showed Williamson being attended to by the New Zealand physio, while clutching his right hamstring. He eventually walked off the field, with Daryl Mitchell coming out to bat in his place.

Williamson had recently come out of run from injuries; he ruptured the ACL in his right knee while fielding for his team Gujarat Titans during the opening match of IPL 2023. He recovered just in time post surgical intervention to play the ODI World Cup in India in October-November last year.

During the World Cup match against Bangladesh at Chennai, Williamson suffered a broken thumb while batting, which forced him to miss four more games before returning for the clash against Pakistan at Bengaluru.

Williamson had earlier missed ODIs and T20Is against Bangladesh, and he is scheduled to miss New Zealand’s third T20I against Pakistan at University of Otago Oval in Dunedin, before returning for the last two games at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

(IANS)