Kane Williamson starts practice after surgery with daughter

AUCKLAND: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has posted an adorable video of him playing with his daughter after a knee injury that ruled him out of competitive cricket.

Williamson, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture while fielding for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023 opener in April, underwent surgery and is currently in the rehabilitation phase.

The injury has cast a shadow on his availability for selection for the World Cup, which is scheduled in October-November in India.

However today, Kane Williamson posted a video of his ‘first competitive game’ with his daughter after his surgery.

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“First competitive game back! Nice to have [Gray Nicolls] back in hand,” the right-handed batter wrote on Instagram.

He was seen wielding his Gray Nicolls bat at a yellow rubber ball thrown at him by his daughter, Maggie, as their pet dog followed the proceeding from the opposite of the glass shield.

Recently, the New Zealand captain said he was desperately hoping to make his way back to the national side at the earliest.

“I haven’t had such a long-term injury before but talking to other people that have, the journey is a bit of a long one so if you look too far ahead, it probably can become a little bit daunting.”

Typically, the injury takes around six-month rehabilitation and Kane Williamson acknowledged that he is not forcing it ahead of time and claimed to be taking it on a week-to-week basis.

“Whereas, one week at a time, ticking off those small markers, those little wins that are nice to experience. But also knowing that the journey won’t be completely smooth and you have a few setbacks along the way that you have to navigate,” Williamson added.

Williamson, who led New Zealand to the inaugural World Test Championship victory has 6554 ODI runs, at an average of 47.83, under his belt.