New Zealand’s full time captain Kane Williamson’s return has been further delayed due to his long-standing elbow injury. The ICC Test captain of the year has been away from action since the 1st Test between India and NZ in November 2021 for an elbow strain that has been bothering him over the last two years.
Williamson was advised a sustained period of rest by the doctors and it was speculated that the right handed batter will return in the South Africa home series.
Coach Gary Stead confirmed the news and stated that they would now be eyeing for a March window where the Kiwis have white ball matches scheduled against the Netherlands.
In the absence of Williamson and recently retired Ross Taylor, NZ will be fielding their weakest batting line-up in years and have been forced to call up Hamish Rutherford, who played his last long format game in 2015. Colin de Grandhomme has also been added to the team.
New Zealand take on South Africa on a two-game tour starting 17 February.