Kane Williamson surprises his ardent fan by gifting him a signed bat ahead of his 99th birthday

New Zealand white-ball formats captain Kane Williamson recently surprised one of his devoted fans by gifting him a signed bat ahead of his 99th birthday in a wonderful gesture. Williamson is coming off a fruitful Test series against Sri Lanka.

He amassed 337 runs across two Test matches against the visiting side at an average of 168.50 and played a major role in the Kiwis' 2-0 clean-sweep victory. After the series, he extended a kind gesture towards a fan, giving him his signed bat.

Kane Williamson will join Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 after leading SRH last season

Kane Williamson will now shift his focus to IPL 2023, which will commence on March 31. The Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise released him before the mini-auction last year. Gujarat Titans (GT) bid for him at the IPL 2023 mini-auction in December and signed him at a base price of INR 2 crore.

Gujarat Titans won the trophy last year and will be looking to defend it successfully in 2023. They have bolstered their squad further with the addition of the likes of Kane Williamson, Josh Little, Odean Smith, and KS Bharat at the mini-auction.

Here is GT's complete schedule for the upcoming season:

March 31, 7:30 pm IST - vs. CSK, Ahmedabad

April 4, 7:30 pm IST - vs. DC, Delhi

April 9, 7:30 pm IST - vs. KKR, Ahmedabad

April 13, 7:30 pm IST - vs. PBKS, Mohali

April 16, 7:30 pm IST - vs. RR, Ahmedabad

April 22, 3:30 pm IST - vs. LSG, Lucknow

April 25, 7:30 pm IST - vs. MI, Ahmedabad

April 29, 3:30 pm IST - vs. KKR, Kolkata

May 2, 7:30 pm IST - vs. DC, Ahmedabad

May 5, 7:30 pm IST - vs. RR, Jaipur

May 7 - 3:30 pm IST - vs. LSG, Ahmedabad

May 12 - 7:30 pm IST - vs. MI, Mumbai

May 15 - 7:30 pm IST - vs. SRH, Ahmedabad

May 21 - 7:30 pm IST - vs. RCB, Bengaluru

About the author

Balakrishna has been a cricket writer at Sportskeeda for almost seven years. A sport that he has been following and playing since he was eight, Balakrishna enjoys the intensity of the sport, skills and strategies applied to get a result out of nowhere, and the thrill that it gives. He also played as a medium pace bowling all-rounder in four inter-college tournaments, winning twice.

Balakrishna’s all-time favorite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma. He admires Sachin’s stellar performances against legendary bowlers, along with his discipline and humility. Meanwhile, he is a big fan of how Rohit turned around his initial struggles to build a successful career.

He avidly supports Team India and 2016 IPL winners SunRisers Hyderabad. The first World Cup that Balakrishna ever saw was the 2003 World Cup, when Australia comprehensively triumphed over India in the final.

While working, he ensures he only uses reliable sources and provides relevant, ethical, and accurate information. When not working, Balakrishna enjoys playing table tennis and reading non-fiction books.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee