Leg and off: Should Kane Williamson move on from T20Is to prolong his career?
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson's T20I journey is at crossroads owing to his form, and how lost he looks with the changed landscape of the game. Luckily for him, his future lies in his own hands, and it might just not be the end of the road after all.
He was asked about his future in the format as New Zealand failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup.
"Oh, I don't know," he said, when asked if he'd still be involved in New Zealand's T20I set-up in 2026. "There's a bit of time between now and then, so it's about regrouping as a side. We've got red-ball cricket over the next year basically, so it's back into some other international formats, and we'll see where things land," Williamson added after New Zealand's consolation win over Papua New Guinea.
On that note, let us have a look at some of the factors which affect Kane Williamson's T20I future.
#1 Will he be able to revamp his game at this stage of his career?
Some of Williamson's best knocks have come on difficult surfaces, where he has used his impeccable technique to stand apart from the rest. Slowly building a start and then switching gears has been his speciality, but along with several others, he is finding the format to be a very strange avenue.
He perhaps has all the ingredients except modernity. Although this trait was coveted until not long back, because of the class and vintage-ness, but it is something that might be frowned upon now. All those drives and dabs to third man that were once cheered, will draw groans from the impatient format.
Cricket dictates that you move and evolve with the times, and it may be high time for Williamson to do that. His current strike rate won't cut out in the modern era, and although he is the skipper and perhaps New Zealand's greatest ever batter but even that rope has an end.
A major overhaul of his game to infuse aggression and power hitting while still not losing any of the charm and class he possesses might be the ideal and difficult route that Williamson has to take if he wishes to prolong his career a fair bit. Not losing the class is vital, because it is his identity in the crucial role he plays for the Blackcaps in the other formats.
After playing with a trusted approach for the entirety of a career, it might take a while for him to completely incorporate the change. However, on the flip side, there is not much that he needs to change, apart from trying to cultivate more scoring options and increase the tempo, so it is not exactly too intimidating or unataainable for a player with his ability.
#2 How vital is his presence to oversee the New Zealand transition?
Kane Williamson has asserted throughout the 2024 T20 World Cup that it is not an end of an era, but one cannot help but feel it. If we assume for this purpose that the ace batter has parted ways with the format, then it presents New Zealand with some serious questions, particularly because other senior members like Boult and Southee are also more or less done.
Who will be the next No.3? Are there any potential leadership candidates in the team for the long run, and many more such questions arise. Having accepted these woes, New Zealand can work on the concerned areas in the next cycle so that Williamson leaves with a much more secure team behind him.
As a result, Williamson's T20I fate is a topic that has to be considered not only from his batting style point of view, but also from the team's perspective. New Zealand are pretty vulnerable and fragile at the moment after a rare early exit in an ICC event.
Taking a step back at this time might prolong the frenetic state of the team, because they need Williamson's presence as a senior member and leader more than ever.
#3 Wear and tear & start and stop
Now the question of 'prolonging' comes here. Williamson is currently 33 years old, so he certainly moves into the final leg of his career. Now, most cricketers like David Warner for instance part ways with the longer formats and prolong their career by playing the shortest format, particularly franchise cricket.
Howver, since longer formats are Williamson's strengths, it does not make any sense for him to take that route. As of now, his franchise cricket exploits are almost next to none.
New Zealand are scheduled to play close to 20 to 25 T20Is until the next World Cup, and that should overall be manageable because ODI cricket has taken a backseat, and the other priority will be the World Test Championship (WTC). However, New Zealand anyways deal with only two or three Test match series anyway (They play close to 13 Tests until 2026, while England and India play 21 and 19, respectively).
So, the challenge from a workload viewpoint is not that much of an obstacle. But, this only covers the controllable factors.
Issues like injuries and lack of game time in franchise cricket are not completely in his control. He is still, to a level, bearing the brunt of the two major injuries he sustained last year. Another huge blow could end this discussion straight away.
Furthermore, franchise cricket has become such an integral part of dictating how the game is being played. There is no question that playing such tournaments on a consistent basis gives you a grip over how the sport is evolving as well as the hand over different conditions.
But, with Williamson being a bench player in the IPL , going unsold in the Hundred, and not being active in any other leagues makes him a bit behind than the rest. Now if he can overcome with his superior technique and ability to adapt and judge the game, then it might get balanced out.
To conclude, Williamson can give a legitimate fair shot at stretching his T20I career for a couple more years if he manages to rectify the controllable. It is not as if New Zealand have a readymade replacement whose place is being hogged by Williamson. The closest thing the Blackcaps have is Rachin Ravindra, but if his recent displays are any indication, he needs a bit more time.