World Cup 2023: Kane Williamson is keen on taking more risks, opines Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views ahead of the semifinal clash between India and New Zealand stating that the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is willing more risks this time in terms of his stroke play as compared to the 2019 World Cup. India and New Zealand will play at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar has opined that New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is willing to take more risks as compared to the 2019 World Cup edition while sharing his thoughts on his performance in the previous edition.

Kane Williamson has smashed three half-centuries so far in the marquee tournament after recovering from an injury and being part of international action after a long time. Also, he has been in good touch in the competition and many former cricketers have praised Kane Williamson for his exploits. Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed himself regarding Kane Williamson's batting saying he is being more aggressive in the 2019 World Cup edition.

"Six runs an over is a good scoring rate by any standard, so he (Kane Williamson) will look to do that. When the boundary ball comes along, he will hit the boundary ball, so we've seen his willingness to take more risks. We haven't seen that side of Kane Williamson maybe in 2019, but here, we have seen him take the aerial route. He got out on a shot for a 100 the other day; he got out on 95, but that's because he had taken the aerial route, and he will probably look to do that against Kuldeep Yadav as well," 74-year-old Gavaskar, a veteran of 125 Tests, told Star Sports.

Kudeep Yadav has played a key role for the Indian side taking 14 wickets from nine matches so far. The spinner can play a crucial role in India's matches and he will be a key factor for Rohit and Co. in the semifinal as well. Gavaskar remarked that Williamson can handle Kuldeep very well.

"It doesn’t matter. He’s such a great player; it doesn’t matter if he’s come out from a big break and he's scored runs. So, I don't think it’s going to make much of a difference. He uses his feet really well to go down the pitch to smother the turn if needed; he then goes and uses the crease as well. So, he's a very good player. I don’t think he is going to be fussed about playing Kuldeep; he will know how to tackle him. If needed, you don’t want to hit him for boundaries; just work it away for six singles if that is required," he concluded.

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