After leading Sunrisers Hyderabad for 46 matches in seasons 2018-2022 of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kane Williamson will be turning out for defending champions Gujarat Titans in the 2023 edition of the tournament.
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With India all-rounder Hardik Pandya to lead Gujarat’s title defence in IPL 2023, Williamson admitted that not being a captain has taken some things off his plate, citing the huge amount of energy leadership roles require.
Earlier, Williamson had stepped down as New Zealand’s Test captain, with Tim Southee taking over.
“It certainly doesn’t switch the cricketing brain off absolutely because when you are out there on the field, you try and assist where you can for the team, if you are called upon for your ideas, that’s quite a natural thing to be engaged.”
“But having said that, it has taken a little bit off my plate which was a large part of the reason for making the decision back home. I have always thought that it wasn’t a forever job and requires a lot of energy. I really enjoyed my role in that specific position and basically helping where I am.”
“Captaincy is a position I have been involved in for a number of years in different teams. But it’s not something that I have to have. Any side you are on, you want to do as much as you can for the team.”
“Whether you have an official leadership role or not doesn’t really matter. It’s nice to mix it up. I’m excited to be playing under Hardik as I have been playing under Tim Southee in the Test format, who’s doing a fantastic job. Still, it’s a change which I am experiencing and going through it,” he said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
Troubled by elbow issues, Williamson had a forgettable time with the bat in IPL 2022, scoring just 216 runs in 13 innings, including one fifty, at a strike rate of 93.50 and averaging 19.64. Under his captaincy, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished at eighth place in a ten-team table.
With Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha set to continue from last year as the opening pair for Gujarat, Williamson is likely to bat one-down. For now, he feels that shrugging off a troublesome elbow injury was a big relief.
“It was something that was improving slowly all the time. It certainly required management and it is a lot better now. It’s not something that’s stopping me in terms of training loads and playing. Although no injury is ideal and often injuries require time to heal and work through and so, for me, it was no different. But it’s nice to be back playing and training and not be sort of burdened by it.”
Gill has had a phenomenal 2023 so far, smashing five centuries across all three formats of the international game. Williamson, now New Zealand’s white-ball skipper, considers Gill as a big player in the Gujarat side and sees some captaincy potential in the right-handed batter.
“He has had an incredible year and you could always see that it was only a matter of time… A very special player. A big player for our team and it’s great to be in his side. I have played against Shubman for a few years and you could see the quality that he has. He’s a really strong competitor.”
“To have those experiences that you need as a young, extremely talented player and really put it together on the international stage and endorsed obviously in the IPL as well like I say it was more of a matter of time and a very special place. He is a big player for our team.”
“You could see the quality that he has. I’m sure it’d be learning a lot from a number of leaders that he’s been able to play under for a few years. And, he seems like a fantastic guy, and he has a really great understanding of the game. So, I suppose naturally, there might be leadership positions that might come this way. But we’ll have to see.”
