NZ Head coach Gary Stead names Tom Latham and Tim Southee as possible replacements for skipper Kane Williamson

Gary Stead and Kane Williamson. (Photo Source: Twitter/ICC)

New Zealand have a tough task to appoint a captain for the ODI World Cup 2023 if their regular skipper Kane Williamson fails to get fit in time. Williamson got injured while fielding during the curtain-raiser of the ongoing IPL 2023 between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings on March 31.

The Kiwi captain tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and went through a successful surgery in April. The 32-year-old is likely to take at least nine months to recover and hence his participation in the World Cup is uncertain. Commenting on the possible replacements of their regular skipper head coach Gary Stead threw in names of Test captain Tim Southee and Tom Latham.

“That’s something that still needs to be worked out. Tim’s captain in the test team as well, but Tom’s had a lot of white-ball experience for us in the past. I thought he captained really well [in Pakistan], with a number of guys he didn’t know much about as well, and that’s always a challenge,” Stead was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz.

Latham has captained New Zealand in 23 of the 46 ODIs games since the last ODI World Cup in England in 2019. The opening batter was not taken into consideration when Williamson stepped down from Test captaincy in December 2022.

The southpaw recently led a second-string squad in T20I and ODI series in Pakistan where they managed to draw the T20I series 2-2 and lost the ODI series 1-4.

However, head coach Stead is still hopeful of Williamson to recover in time and if he’s not able to make it then Stead is keen on taking him as a mentor for the marquee tournament.

The ODI World Cup 2023 will reportedly be played from October 5 to November 19, however, the entire schedule of the tournament is yet to be announced. Hence, Stead is still waiting for New Zealand’s fixtures to be confirmed and is eager to know what venues and conditions they will have to prepare for. The fixtures are likely to be out after the end of the ongoing IPL.