After losing the first Test by a huge margin, New Zealand are in for yet another setback as their skipper and star batsman, Kane Williamson is down with a bug and did not train with his team ahead of the second Test against India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
With just a day to go for the Test to begin, Williamson was feeling unwell and was laying low at their team hotel while the rest of the team went through a rigorous training session at the Eden Gardens. There are no indications on whether he will be a part of the Test or not.
Opener Tom Latham expects his skipper to be fine and take part in the Test. While speaking to the press ahead of tomorrow’s match, Latham said that Kane was a bit crook today and didn’t take part in the training. He also sounded confident about his skipper taking the field tomorrow.
He said, “Kane is a little bit crook today so he won’t take part in the training. There is no discomfort, he is just down with a bug. Nothing too major, he is just resting up and getting right for tomorrow.”
Also Read: R Ashwin is absolutely fine, will play in the second test, says Virat Kohli
If Williamson fails to take the field tomorrow, it will be a huge blow for New Zealand not because he is their main batsman but also their best player of spin, something which is crucial for a batsman to play in India. Henry Nicholls is set to come into the playing XI if Williamson fails to recover before the Test.
Even though Williamson got out to Ashwin twice in the first test, he looked comfortable against India’s spin twins R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Williamson’s absence will leave a huge void in the New Zealand batting line-up.
Also Read: Jimmy Neesham ruled out of the second Test
Ever since the start of this tour, New Zealand are forced to deal with injury concerns to their players. It all started with Jimmy Neesham, who injured his rib during a training session before the first Test and was ruled out of the Kanpur Test. It was revealed that Neesham will also miss the second Test as he is yet to recover from the injury.
Their pace spearhead Tim Southee was ruled out of the series due to an ankle injury and Matt Henry was called in to replace Southee. Mark Craig was yet another casualty after he was down with side strain during the first Test and was replaced by fellow off-spinner Jeetan Patel.
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