If not fit to play, Williamson could be a New Zealand team mentor at the ODI World Cup

Kane Williamson could still travel to India for the ODI World Cup later this year, with the team management open to roping in the injured batter as a mentor for the tournament. At the same time, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has refused to rule Williamson out of the World Cup as a player just yet.

After suffering a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his right knee in the opening game of IPL 2023, Williamson returned home from India on crutches and subsequently underwent surgery, which was deemed a success. Williamson's knee is still in a brace as he undergoes rehab.

"Look, it's still far too early to know," Stead said ahead of the five-match ODI series in Pakistan. "He's had the operation and, to date, what we know, that's been successful. So he is in the very, very early stages of his rehab programme.

"It's obviously pretty non-weight-bearing at this stage, and he's in a brace. So, it's really just meeting milestones as we go. Our line around Kane, at the moment, is still it's unlikely that he will be available, but we certainly don't want to rule out a person of his class and calibre, and the things he brings to this team, too early in case there is that chance still.

"Yeah, absolutely [would take him to India as a mentor]."

The ODI World Cup is likely to start on October 5 and end on November 19, with 12 Indian cities shortlisted as venues for the tournament, but the official itinerary is yet to be released. Usually, the ICC announces World Cup schedules at least a year in advance, but this time it has also been waiting for the BCCI to get the necessary clearances from the Indian government. The wait for the schedule has somewhat disrupted New Zealand's long-term planning.

"It [schedule] is not out yet, so there's not much we can do about that," Stead said. "So it does keep our options reasonably open without knowing the venues and who we are playing at different venues.

"So, it does make it pretty difficult to finalise plans right now. But that again just gives players opportunities, that are within the squad now, to come out here [in Pakistan] and play for New Zealand."

In the absence of Williamson and a number of first-choice New Zealand players, Mark Chapman emerged from the fringes and hit an unbeaten 104 off 57 balls, helping his team gun down 194 to square the T20I series 2-2 in Rawalpindi. Chapman was then added to New Zealand's ODI squad and is also in the frame for the ODI World Cup, according to Stead.

Chapman has played just five ODIs for New Zealand since he made his debut for them in the format in 2018.

However, he is a fine player of spin, which in a lot of ways is to do with him playing more in Asian and subcontinental conditions during his formative years with Hong Kong.

"The [T20I] series result itself was fantastic for the team, if you consider the number of players that are at the IPL" Stead said. "And we were playing a full-strength Pakistan team - a team that made the T20 [World Cup] final. So, to get a two-all result against them and play the way we did, especially in the last T20 game, was fantastic.

"The Mark Chapman-James Neesham partnership was really, really significant. Obviously, it wasn't the best of starts with the bat, but the composure the two of them showed in that situation was brilliant. It was not just one knock about Mark Chapman why he was added to the ODI squad, but there is a lot of competition for places and it's not so much about the competition, but it's how we keep building towards the World Cup. And Mark Chapman is one guy who is in our thoughts around that."

Martin Guptill has given up his NZC contract and is now a free agent, but Mike Hesson, the former New Zealand coach who is currently with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, believes Guptill could be another candidate to slot into Williamson's place in the ODI team because of his experience. Guptill was in action in PSL 2023, where he was the top scorer for Quetta Gladiators with 310 runs in nine innings at an average of 38.75 and strike rate of just over 150.

"I think World Cups do require experience and I think Martin Guptill is one of those guys that has always turned up at World Cups," Hesson said on Sky Sports NZ recently during a chat with Logan van Beek. "I think he would be very much in their thinking and the ability for [Devon] Conway to either stay at the top or bat at No. 3 depending on which other player stands up and says: 'Look, I must be included'.

"I don't think the World Cup is a time where you want too many new faces. You want to intersperse the talented youngsters amongst some experience. Missing Kane... that diminishes that experience significantly. So, that's where Martin Guptill comes back into the mix. He has obviously performed well in some T20 tournaments around the world recently and in particular the PSL."