Kane Williamson came into the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League with a lot of responsibility thrusted on him. After Sunrisers Hyderabad’s first-choice captain David Warner was ruled out of the league as punishment for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, the Kiwi was put on the hot seat.
Not only was Williamson given the added responsibility to lead the team, but had to ensure that Warner’s absence would not affect the make-up of the batting line-up.
To his credit, Williamson has stepped to the challenge with elan. He has led the team from the front, emerging as one of the league’s consistent run-scorers so far.
In five innings, the 27-year-old has notched up 230 runs at an average of 57.50, with a strike-rate of 131.42. He’s achieved all this while sticking to his classical way of batting, centred more on run-gathering rather than the big-hitting pyrotechnics.
Williamson is currently placed at No 4 in the run-getters’ list in the 11th season of IPL. In the top-five, Williamson shares space with the likes of Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, all of whom have come out blazing with an aggressive style of batting. In the top-bracket, Williamson holds the lowest strike-rate. However, he has managed to maintain a high average with three half-centuries to his credit so far.
“I am always trying my best to adapt to the situation and conditions, and not try and to hit the ball like AB de Villiers or Chris Gayle. It is never going to happen; I try to do it my way as best I can,” said Williamson ahead of his side’s clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
Playing your role
Over the course of the IPL, big-hitting batsmen have ruled the roost. The trend hasn’t changed much in this edition. Other than Gayle and de Villiers, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant have made more than a splash. These batsmen have accrued the big runs based on their aggressive style of batting, which is centered around clearing the fence at all costs at nearly all times.
Even Rahul, who has always been perceived as a Test cricketer due to his technique and style of batting, has tweaked his game in the ongoing IPL, and become his side Kings XI Punjab’s in-house explosive opener.
The returns for the big-hitters are always high, but the likes of Williamson, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane have kept the role of the orthodox batsman relevant.
Williamson feels that every team in the IPL is replete with players assigned to different roles. To his mind, Sunrisers follows a similar strategy with each player tasked to contribute to the team’s plan in their own unique way.
“Less focus on style and more about having people in roles that contribute to team plans,” he said. “That’s the focus for us. We have the players in areas who are best suited [for that role]. But, this format is very fickle and requires risk to move the game forward. So at times there are mistakes that occur, but as long as you work as a group it’s fine.”
Leading from the front
The New Zealander has focused more on forming partnerships after coming into bat at No 3. He tries to bat through the innings, taking the aerial route only after settling down or towards the end of the innings. With his role defined, Williamson does not feel the urge to get onto the offensive.
In Sunrisers’ previous match against Chennai Super Kings, he was forced to open the innings, as Shikhar Dhawan missed out due to an elbow injury. Williamson began the innings in his own style. He remained at the crease till the 18th over, building the innings around him, only letting his bat swing towards the end. Unlike other batsmen, though, Williamson sticks to the V and largely refrains from targeting the mid-wicket fence.
Other than Williamson, Kohli is the only other bat in the top-five run-getters list of the current IPL season to follow a similar style of batting. While the India skipper does go on the offensive when need be, he seldom goes for the slog and largely targets the boundary down the wicket. As captains of their respective sides, a lot is riding on them.
As the only only foreign captain in the IPL, Williamson has not let the situation sway him into a different style of man-management or even at an individual capacity as a batsman. He has maintained his calm and composed style of operating on the field even as his side faces one tense situation after another. He feels the responsibility of being the captain also tends to make a player focused more on the plans of the team rather get swept away by emotions.
“The responsibility of the captain within a side is to help those around us, rather than trying to get too caught up in the emotion of it all up,” Williamson said.
After winning their first three games on the trot, Sunrisers have slipped in their previous two games. Injuries to Dhawan and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar have had its impact on the team, however, the performances of their skipper remain unscathed.
They will hope he maintains his scoring form on Tuesday as well.