New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the ODI series against Bangladesh with an elbow injury.
Williamson has small tears in his left elbow tendon that he struggled with during the second half of the New Zealand summer. He also sat down the domestic Super Smash T20 in New Zealand earlier this year due to an elbow obstruction but returned to action in time for the recently won 3-2 series at the Black Caps. Australia.
“Kane has been managing elbow injuries to varying degrees over the summer and unfortunately has not improved,” NZC Medical Manager Dayle Shackel said Tuesday.
“Obviously he has a lot of training and play across all three forms, which has hampered his ability to recover. We believe it now takes time to rest and rehabilitate to get the injury right.
“Timetables are subject to change but we hope that, after resting, he should begin recovery next week.”
New Zealand coach Gary Stead said that although Williamson’s presence will be lost, this is ultimately the right action.
“Kane loves playing for his country – so it was not an easy decision to take a step back,” said Stead.
“A bat face angle is crucial to his game and as the injury did not improve it was clear that something needed to be done.
“We have a big year of cricket ahead with the England Test tour and the ICC World Test Final in May and June, and we want to make sure Kane is fit and shooting for that.
“We will certainly miss his class and leadership in the upcoming Bangladesh series, but he will no doubt miss someone else’s opportunity when the ODI squad is named.”
The Black Caps team will be announced on Thursday, nine days out from the first ODI on March 20th.