Kane Williamson ruled out of Ind T20 League 2023

Gujarat batter Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the ongoing edition of the Indian T20 League 2023 due to a knee injury, the franchise confirmed the news on Sunday (April 2). The Kiwi stalwart picked up the injury during Gujarat’s opening fixture against Chennai at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

“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," Vikram Solanki, Gujarat’s director of cricket, stated in a media release.

Williamson suffered an injury while attempting a catch at the deep square leg boundary during the 13th over of the first innings of the tournament opener.  While he did manage to prevent a certain six, he badly landed on his right knee. He was instantly seen clutching his knee in a lot of agony and was assisted off the ground, with the Gujarat management bringing in Sai Sudarshan as the Impact Player/Substitute. 

Williamson, who had represented Hyderabad in the previous seasons, was bagged at his base price of INR 2 Crore by Gujarat at the auction. The former Kiwi skipper had only just recovered from an elbow injury which for the past two years had troubled him. 

Gujarat are yet to name a replacement for Williamson and have stated that they “will finalise a replacement for the right-handed batter and an announcement will be made in due course".