Here's how Kane Williamson reacted after being released by Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 2016 IPL champions, have always made significant auction decisions over the years. One such big decision came on Tuesday, when the franchise released their captain, Kane Williamson, ahead of the upcoming mini-auction in December. SRH has released Williamson, who led them in the last couple of seasons.
The Kiwi captain had a poor batting season in the TATA IPL 2022. He played 13 games and scored only 216 runs at a below-par average of 19.64 with only one half-century. On the other hand, his strike rate was also below T20 standards. He scored at a rate of 93.51.
And now that the franchise has released their captain, it means that Williamson will come under the hammer this time around. However, after leaving the franchise, he writes an emotional note in which he thanks the team and fans for their support.
He took to Instagram and wrote, "To the franchise, my teammates, the staff and the always amazing #orangearmy - thank you for making it an enjoyable 8 years. This team and the city of Hyderabad will always be very special to me #orangearmy."
Williamson joined SRH in 2015 and has been a part of the franchise since then. He has played 76 games for the Orange Army and scored 2101 runs at an average of 36.22, including 18 half-centuries.
His best performance came in the 2018 season, when he led SRH to the finals of the competition, where they lost to CSK. He scored 735 runs in 17 games at an average of 52.50, including eight half-centuries, and was the highest run scorer of the season. Williamson was also part of the 2016 IPL-winning team.
However, his T20I numbers in 2022 haven't been that good. He played in 12 T20 internationals and scored 382 runs at an average of 34.72, but his strike rate, which is 119.00, has been criticised. His current form was one of the reasons that SRH decided to release him.
India and New Zealand will play three T20Is and three ODIs starting on November 18. And in the pre-match conference, Williamson was asked about SRH's decision to release him. To that, he replied, "It wasn't a surprise when it [retention list] was officially released. That's the way it goes, I had a really enjoyable time at SRH, I have a lot of fond memories."