WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the one-day series against Bangladesh with an elbow problem, Cricket New Zealand (NZC) said on Tuesday.
Williamson, who led the ‘Black Caps’ to Sunday’s 3-2 T20 series victory over Australia, has a slight tear in his left elbow tendon and had been “experiencing inflammation” in the latter half of the summer, NZC said in a statement .
“Kane has been managing his elbow injury to varying degrees this summer and unfortunately he has not recovered,” said NZC Medical Manager Dayle Shackel.
“He obviously has a lot of training and playing across all three formats, which has hampered his ability to improve.
“We think he needs a period of rest and rehabilitation now to get the injury right. “Timescales may vary but we are hopeful that, after initial rest, he should be able to start rehab next week.”
Coach Gary Stead said it was a blow to lose Williamson for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, which begins on March 20, but that it was the right call.
“Kane loves playing for his country – so it’s not been an easy decision to step back,” said Stead.
“A batsman’s front elbow is vital to his game and with the injury not improving it was clear that something needed to be done.
“We have a huge year of cricket ahead with a test tour in England and the final of the first ICC World Test Championship in May and June, and we want to make sure we have Kane fit and firing for that. ”