Gujarat Titans have confirmed that their batter Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the tournament. He had sustained an injury while trying to catch the ball at the boundary during the IPL 2023 season opener against Chennai Super Kings. The franchise made the news official on its Twitter handle.
"We regret to announce, Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the TATA IPL 2023, after sustaining an injury in the season opener against Chennai Super Kings. We wish our Titan a speedy recovery and hope for his early return," the tweet read.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has said in a statement that Kane Williamson will be heading back home for assessment and will consult specialists in order to plan his recovery from knee injury. "Following his official release from the Gujarat Titans with a knee injury, Kane Williamson will return to New Zealand to have the injury further assessed. Williamson suffered the injury to his right knee in the Titan’s opening match of the IPL. Preparations are now underway for him to return to New Zealand next week and be seen by relevant medical specialists to establish a treatment plan," NZC said.
Gujarat Titans director of cricket Vikram Solanki lamented Williamson's absence from the squad but wished him speedy recovery. "It is sad to lose Kane to injury so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery, with the hope of seeing him in action very soon," he said in a statement. New Zealand will now be worried with Williamson's injury as the ODI World Cup is approaching and is only six months away from getting underway.
Gujarat Titans, meanwhile, have confirmed that they will finalise a replacement for the Kiwi batter and make an official announcement soon. It remains to be seen who will bat at number three now. Notably, Sai Sudharsan had replaced him to bat at three as an Impact Player.
