‘Rahu kaal chal raha hai bechare ka’ – Fans react as X-ray verify Kane Williamson has undisplaced fracture in his left thumb, unlikely to play this month

New Zealand star batter and skipper Kane Williamson played his first international match after a gap of almost 7 months. He returned to the New Zealand squad for the 11th ODI World Cup 2023 match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, October 13.

Meanwhile, in a significant development that has left cricket fans worldwide concerned, Williamson suffered a thumb injury during the match. This unfortunate setback has cast doubt on his availability for the remainder of the tournament. Williamson had already missed the first two matches of the ODI World Cup due to fitness concerns, and his return was highly anticipated. 

However, his participation is now in jeopardy after the thumb injury. The extent of the injury is yet to be officially confirmed, but it is widely speculated that he may be sidelined for a significant portion of the tournament, if not the entire remaining matches. The right-handed batter retired hurt after a throw from a Bangladeshi fielder hit his thumb after which he went to get the X-ray done which verified that his thumb got an undisplaced injury

A brilliant all-round performance by New Zealand

The absence of Williamson will undoubtedly be a blow to New Zealand’s campaign, as he is not only their leader but also one of the world’s premier batters. The team will now need to bring back Will Young back into the squad as an opener. However, cricket fans around the globe will be eagerly awaiting updates on Williamson’s condition and hope for a swift recovery.

Talking about the match, Bangladesh batted first and put up a total of 245 runs in the first innings. Lockie Ferguson picked up 3 wickets and played a significant role in restricting the Bangla Tigers to a short total. Chasing the target, the Blackcaps lost their in-form batter Rachin Ravindra on just 12 runs. However, later, Devon Conway, Willamson and Daryl Mitchell made sure that the team didn’t have more setbacks and took the team to an 8-wicket convincing victory.

Here’s how fans reacted: