Mumbai :Kane Williamson certainly had big shoes to fill when he was handed over the captaincy of Sunrisers Hyderabad after first-choice David Warner was rendered ineligible to play for the season as punishment for his involvement in ball-tampering.
Given Warner’s phenomenal success with the franchisee, the pressure was certainly on Williamson. To his credit, the New Zealander has risen to the task superbly. Leading from the front, in five innings so far he has amassed 230 runs at an average of 57.50, scoring at an impressive strike-rate of 131.42. More importantly, he has stuck to his own orthodox style of play rather than following the big-hitting crowd-pullers.
“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.
The only foreign captain in this season’s IPL, Williamson has gone about his usual calm manner and not lost his composure even during the tense situations. “It (close games) is a definitely a challenge, we had a close game yesterday. The responsibility of the captain within a side and walk and help mates, rather than trying to get too caught up in the emotion of it all up.”
SRH had a great start to the tournament, registering three straight wins before losing the last two to be in fourth place after five rounds. But, Williamson refused to read too much into the losses.
“The two games we have lost were because of two special innings from a couple of individual, and that is T20 cricket. It’s important not to be too reactive, and go back to our plans.”
One of the main challenges for the Hyderabad skipper is how he is going to handle his ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Williamson’s main weapon has come under pressure in the last two games, where he was taken for 49 runs by Chennai Super Kings and 55 by Kings XI Punjab.
“Rashid is a world class bowler and the T20 cricket doesn’t make anyone exempt from that the fact that anyone can be put under pressure and any bowler can be hit. It is the nature of the game.
“They have played him really nicely in the last two games, but he is a world class bowler and will be bounce back well. It’s a tricky one going into the next few games, some tough ones coming up. He needs to embrace those challenges.”
