Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson feels a surgery to a troubling elbow injury is the only way out for skipper Kane Williamson, as he has missed several key games both for the country and his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
Williamson was ruled out of the second and final Test of the series against India due to the persistent elbow injury with opener Tom Latham leading the side his place.
On Monday, the tourists lost the second Test at the Wankhede Stadium by 372 runs to lose the series 0-1, with not a single Black Caps' player able to put up a commanding performance here as India wrapped up the game inside four day.
Williamson had also recently struggled to train during the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE before skipping the three-match T20I series against India ahead of the Tests. While he played the opening Test at the Green Park in Kanpur, Williamson wasn't at his dominating best.
Hesson conceded that New Zealand had played poorly. "We just couldn't control the run rate in the first innings with the ball," he told SENZ's Mornings with former Kiwi cricketer Ian Smith.
"We were poor, no doubt about that, we didn't have a defensive option and weren't able to apply any pressure from a batting point of view. So that left us in a pretty precarious position."
The situation was made worse with the dependable Williamson sitting out. While Williamson has been able to manage the injury through the year and the T20 World Cup, the shift to Test cricket and the increased batting has re-aggravated his elbow.
"I think it's got to the point where surgery is definitely required… I'm sure Kane will be the most frustrated of anybody," Hesson said.
"The fact he's given it a huge amount of rest and it hasn't recovered, he's missed cricket throughout the last 18 months. Initially he had a hip issue, but this elbow has been going on for a long time.
"I think he's got to choose a window, got to bite the bullet, get the operation done and then hopefully come back fully fit," added Hesson.
New Zealand will next play a two-Test home series against Bangladesh in January.
