Gary Stead sets a plan for Kane Williamson's road to recovery

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has had issues with an elbow for quite some time now, forcing him out of many recent international assignments. Williamson did not feature in the home Test series against Bangladesh and South Africa in 2022, and his last match was way back in November last year against India in Kanpur.

Giving details on the 31-year-old's road to recovery, head coach of the side, Gary Stead, confirmed Williamson's participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He reckoned that T20 cricket would rightly assess his fitness. 

"Kane’s heading off to India. All the IPL guys [12 New Zealand players are part of the league] are away this week and heading off there. That’s just part of the current cycle of what it looks like in world cricket. He’s going really well. He’s been everywhere we want him to be, and that’s great,” Stead said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The Kiwi skipper will likely return to international cricket in the Test series against England, scheduled in June, considering his elbow responds well during 2022 IPL.

"For us, Kane playing T20 cricket is the right way forward for the short term. It means we can manage his loads a little bit more. And we have a little bit more of a clear idea around how many balls he will be hitting to make sure he is loading the elbow progressively, with a view to him being right for the Tests in the UK which we will be really hopeful for," he added.

Notably, 12 Kiwi players will miss out on the Netherlands series to make themselves available for the entirety of the nearing IPL edition. This will give New Zealand a chance to explore exciting young talents such as Michael Bracewell and Dane Cleaver, who will probably make their debut against the Netherlands.

"It's a great opportunity. Every time a new player gets selected for New Zealand and plays for the Black Caps, it's exciting for them and exciting for our team. I think the natural opportunity that's come around with 12 guys being essentially ruled out by playing in the IPL is exciting for us.”

"We try and show loyalty to those that have been in our squad and I think that's been part of the reason we've had some of the success we've had. We don't make it easy to get into the teams, but Michael's been knocking on the door for a while now. He's a true all-rounder. He's got some great skills in all three forms of the game, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can bring," Stead stated.

The Dutch tour of New Zealand commences from March 25, with one-off T20I and three ODI’s to be played between the two nations.