Big blow to Gujarat Titans, Kane Williamson out of IPL, will return to New Zealand

The first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 was played between defending champions Gujarat Titans (GG) and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In this match, Gujarat started the tournament with a win, performing well. But now Gujarat has got a big blow.

In fact, in this first match played against Chennai, the team's veteran batsman Kane Williamson was injured. He was hurt while fielding and did not come out to bat. Now the news is that they are out of IPL 2023. Williamson had injured his right knee in an attempt to take the catch. This is a big blow for the Titans as Williamson was expected to be the mainstay of their middle order.

While fielding during the IPL 2023 opener against Chennai Super Kings, Kane Williamson had a six by Rituraj Gaikwad on the boundary line in the 13th over. He took the catch, but before falling inside the boundary line, he again threw the ball inside the boundary line. However, during this, he fell to his knees and could not stand again. The physio examined him on the field, but he did not recover.

Gujarat Titans Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki said, “It is sad to see Kane getting injured so early in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery. Williamson will now go to New Zealand for further assessment. The franchise said in a statement on Sunday that Gujarat Titans would finalize the right-handed batsman's replacement and an announcement would be made in due course.

Williamson's knee injury has left the New Zealand team management worried about his availability for the rest of the season. New Zealand's white-ball captain Williamson had to leave the field, following which Sai Sudarshan was included as an impact player. The New Zealand team doctor will now assess his injury and set him on a recovery and rehabilitation program with the hope of being fit in time for the World Cup in India in October-November this year.