Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss the whole India series due to the groin strain he sustained during Sri Lanka series in September. Having missed the first couple of Tests in Bengaluru and Pune, Williamson has been ruled out of the third and final game of the series in Mumbai as New Zealand continued to take a “cautious approach” with respect to the fitness of their premier Test batters.
“Kane continues to show good signs, but isn’t quite ready to jump on a plane and join us,” said New Zealand head coach Gary Stead in an NZC release. “While things are looking promising, we think the best course of action is for him to stay in New Zealand and focus on the final part of his rehabilitation so he’ll be good to go for England.
“The England series is still a month away so taking the cautious approach now will ensure he is ready for the first Test in Christchurch,” he added.
The three-match series against England kicks off in Christchurch in less than a month on November 28 and New Zealand will want their key player fit and raring to go with the Black Caps still alive in the hunt for a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Top-order batter Will Young replaced Williamson at No 3 in the batting order. While Young hasn’t lit up the series, he hasn’t been as bad as some of the Indian batters have been in the current series.
New Zealand took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series as they clinched a first-ever Test series win in India after winning the Pune game by 113 runs. Indian batters collapsed twice to 156 and 245 all-out in the two innings as the Kiwi batters and spinners, led by Mitchell Santner‘s 13 wickets in the match, starred to hand India their first Test series defeat in 12 years after 18 consecutive victories since that England series in 2012-13.
