IPL 2021: Trevor Bayliss gives an update on Kane Williamson’s recovery

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost their second game on the trot in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they failed to chase a below-par total of 149 runs posted by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday. Batting in the second innings, SRH were deemed as the favourites to win the game as the skipper David Warner took the opposition to cleaners by hammering 54 runs off 37 deliveries.

However, his dismissal in the 14th over by Kyle Jamieson proved to be the turning point of the game as what followed after that was the collapse. The Bangalore outfit presented disciplined bowling in the death overs as Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshal Patel ensured a six-run victory for the Men in Red and Gold.

After the game, SRH was subjected to a lot of criticism with many questioning the team management for their decision of keeping Kane Williamson away from the Playing XI. In the previous season also, SRH’s middle-order disappointed, however, Kane played an anchor role to ensure that the team reached the playoffs.

Trevor Bayliss opines on the exclusion of Kane Williamson and Mohammad Nabi

SRH coach Trevor Bayliss finally broke his silence on the issue stating that Williamson is not 100 percent fit and still needs time to heal from the injury he sustained ahead of the Bangladesh series last month. He also informed that the New Zealand skipper is working in the nets and will come into the scheme of things as the tournament progresses.

“We had two days of practice before the RCB game, and Kane Williamson practiced in one of the days. So, he’s coming along,” said Bayliss in the post-match press conference.

In the second match against RCB, SRH also decided to bench Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and included Jason Holder in the team. Detailing his opinion on the same, Bayliss added, “Mohammad Nabi got hit on the head against KKR. He’s still feeling the effects of that hit. Therefore, we played Jason Holder. He adds to our pace attack with his height and bounce. He exactly did so in this match.”