Kane’s late entry non-issue for Moody
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody defended Kane Williamson’s late inclusion in the side stating the side preferred to choose combinations according to the situation.
The New Zealand captain struck a 51-ball 89 as Sunrisers won their second consecutive gamebeatingDelhiDaredevilsby 15 runs. The win temporarily placed them second despite losing two games to Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. It was Williamson’s first match of the season as well.
“We won last year, so I guess we got our combinations right. Kane’s like a number of players in squads that you can argue that they could have played more but at the end of the day you can only play four overseas players,” said Moody during an interaction.
“With that, you’ve got to think of combinations to complement your side with and a lot of that depends on your Indian players. Kane’s a very fine player in all formats of the game, but he’s had to be patient with opportunities purely because the combination that we’ve had hasn’t allowed us to play two overseas specialist batsmen. We’ve gone more for allrounders to give us depth in our bowling.”
With four wins under their belt, Sunrisers are third and although they’re yet to register a win away from home, Moody said he would prefer taking one game at a time. “I think you can fall into a trap if you’re thinking too far ahead. We know the competition is going to be tight like it is every single year so every game has an importance to it and tomorrow’s match is an important game for us to make sure we are one of the top four teams at the end of the tournament,” he added.
Moody praised the duo of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, the first from Afghanistan to feature in the IPL, stating the two had gelled with the squad.
“They’ve fitted into the team environment and it’s a welcome addition you can say. One of the positives of IPL is a dynamic balance of nationalities.”
Moody clarified Ashish Nehra may not make a comeback soon as he’s suffering with back spasm. “At this stage the only question mark is on Ashish Nehra. He’s had a neck spasm over the last couple of days. It’s not serious but we’re not going to rush him back.”
Kane’s had to be patient because the combination we’ve had hasn’t allowed us to play two overseas specialist batsmen. You can fall into a trap if you’re thinking too far ahead. The competition is going to be tight like it is every single year so every game is important .