Kiwi star batsman Kane Williamson hasn't found a place in the playing XI for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening game of the IPL 2021 season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
SRH were always going to have the conundrum of choosing between Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson, since playing them both would have beefed up their top-order but would have made their lower-order considerably weaker.
The inclusion of Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi makes sense as he will not only provide depth in the SRH batting but will also be handy with his off-spin on a turning track in Chennai.
Bairstow had a sensational ODI series against India, where he scored 218 runs from three matches and won the Player of the Series award. However, he may come out to bat at No.4 given the fact that Wriddhiman Saha has also made it to the SRH XI.
Twitter reacts to Kane Williamson's exclusion
Fans were perplexed, as they believed Kane Williamson was a certain starter in the SRH line-up. The Kiwi scored 317 runs last season in 12 games at a very healthy strike-rate of 133.75. He also played a match-winning innings in the Eliminator.
This made Kane Williamson's exclusion even more shocking and the Twitterati certainly made their thoughts on it clear. Here is what they had to say:
There was another exclusion that perhaps raised fewer eyebrows. It came from the KKR camp as West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine was replaced by Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan as the overseas option.
Narine didn't have a great IPL 2020 season with bat or ball. However, that doesn't change the fact that he is one of the main reasons why KKR have won two IPL titles. It will be interesting to see whether the move to play Shakib ahead of Narine pays dividends
SRH have opted to bowl first and will look to restrict KKR to as low a score as possible. As seen in the opening game of the season, the track in Chennai will assist the spinners. Thus, Rashid Khan from SRH and KKR's Varun Chakravarthy might have the biggest impact on the game.
Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️