Black Caps coach Gary Stead fully expects captain Kane Williamson to play in the World Test Championship final.
Photo: © Copyright Andrew Cornaga 2020 / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd
The world's top-ranked test batsman has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match one-day series against Bangladesh in New Zealand to rest an elbow injury.
Williamson has been managing a small tear in his left-elbow tendon during the back-half of the summer.
The Black Caps were scheduled to play the World Test Championship final in mid-June, and Stead was confident the injury wouldn't force Williamson to miss the match being played in England against India.
"I don't expect that to happen at all.
"Kane could still keep playing right now but getting it completely right will give him peace of mind in the long run.
"I have no doubts Kane will be OK to play for New Zealand moving forward, hopefully in the nearer future [rather] than further away."
Despite ongoing treatment on the injury, Williamson was still experiencing some discomfort.
Stead said the skipper's success this summer, resulting in a lot of time at the crease, had probably contributed to the issue.
"He obviously has a high volume of training and playing across the three formats, which has inhibited his ability to recover. We believe he now needs a period of rest and rehabilitation to get the injury right.
"Time-frames can vary but we're hopeful that, after an initial rest, he should be able to begin rehabilitation next week."
"Kane loves playing for his country - so it hasn't been an easy decision to step back."
The news could mean Williamson's home summer was done.
He was one of eight New Zealand players set to head away for the Indian Premier League later this month or very early next, with most expected to miss the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh, which followed the ODI games.
The Black Caps ODI squad was set to be released on Thursday morning, with the first ODI against Bangladesh on Saturday, 20 March in Dunedin.
