Kane Williamson getting back to full fitness

MUMBAI: New Zealand cricket's run-machine Kane Williamson could take his place in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team very soon after he posted a video of him at the nets and said he was 'pretty optimistic about being close to full fitness very soon'.

This could be music to the David Warner-led team which has been struggling so far, having lost both its opening matches — to Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore — by narrow margins in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Black Caps skipper had earlier missed the Bangladesh one-day international series in March due to a tear in in his left elbow tendon.

"The recovery is going really well — it's been focused to get pain-free as quickly as possible. And we are certainly tracking really nicely and hoping to be fit and ready within a week," Williamson, who notched up 659 runs in the Tests against West Indies and Pakistan, said on Friday.

"It's been a bit of a balance between practice and rehab and (those) sort of things but for the most part, the progression has been really good, so (I'm) pretty optimistic about being close to full fitness very soon," , said the talismanic New Zealand skipper, who received the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee medal for the fourth time in six seasons for his superb batting performance this Test summer. (IANS)