Defending IPL champions Gujarat Titans (GT) have suffered a big blow in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 as their star batter Kane Williamson, who signed for INR 2 crore in the mini-auction that took place last year in Kochi, has been ruled out of the ongoing season due to a knee injury. The 32-year-old right-handed batter suffered an injury during the Titans’ IPL 2023 opening game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) that took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31.
In an attempt to save a six hit by CSK opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad during his 50-ball, 92-run innings, Kane Williamson ended up hurting his right knee and then left the ground in pain, after which he didn’t take part any further in the game. He was later replaced by Sai Sudarshan via the Impact Player rule during the Gujarat Titans batting.
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The Kiwis’ limited-overs skipper was in good touch in the build-up to the IPL and was coming into this year’s tournament on the back of scoring a century and a double ton against Sri Lanka in the two-match series.
Big blow to Gujarat Titans as Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the IPL 2023 due to the knee injury #Breaking @sports_tak
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) April 1, 2023
The right-handed batter who led the Black Caps to win in the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship was associated with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) until last year, but after a forgettable performance in the IPL 2022, he was released.
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According to a report in Sports Tak, Williamson will not be taking any part in the IPL 2023 due to a knee injury. Williamson’s absence will be a big blow for the Hardik Pandya-led Titans, who are aiming to become the third team after the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back IPL titles.
Kane Williamson, who made his IPL debut in 2015, has played in a total of 77 IPL matches to date, in which he has amassed 2101 runs at an average of 36.22 and a strike rate of 126.03. He finished as the leading run-getter in the 2018 edition of the IPL and helped SRH reach the final.
