Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League after sustaining an injury in the opening match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings according to media reports. The concerns on Williamson's participation in the tournament were raised as soon as the New Zealander was replaced by Impact player Sai Sudharsan during GT's batting.
Williamson was forced off the field 13 overs into the game after he injured his right knee while taking a catch. The incident took place while he was fielding on the deep-square leg boundary, when he was trying to take Ruturaj Gaikwad's catch. He almost managed to save two runs, before it crossed the boundary ropes. By the time, the damage was already done.
There have been many injury concerns in different teams this season with star players like Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Jonny Bairstow being ruled out due to injury. Williamson being ruled out of the tournament will be a big blow for Team Gujarat. However, there has been no official announcement made about the same from Gujarat Titans or BCCI.
Titans captain Hardik Pandya had said at the post-match press conference that he did not know how serious was the injury.
"It is knee (injury) for sure but I don't have any update about what exactly has happened. I don't know how serious the injury is and how much time it will take (to heal). Right now there is no time frame," Pandya said.
"I had just messaged him. He (Williamson) has gone for the scans, once he comes back after the scans and doctors check (on him), then only we will be able to know what exactly it is.
In the 77 IPL matches that he played, Kane scored 2101 runs with the highest score of 89 and an average of 36.22. He made his IPL debut in 2015 and has smashed 18 half-centuries since then.
In the first game between GT and CSK, Hardik Pandya-led team thrashed MS Dhoni-led team by five wickets. Coming to bat first, Chennai had set a target of 179 runs. However, Gujarat chased it down in 19.2 overs with 5 wickets in hand.
