Dean Jones, the former Australian batsman, has come out and stated that Kane Williamson has been absolutely magnificent for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in this Indian Premier League and is a prime example to follow for some other struggling batting captains like Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir.
Gautam Gambhir who was the captain of the Delhi Daredevils at the start of the season had to drop himself from the team and his position because of his poor batting form undeserving of a place in the side. While Ajinkya Rahane has been going through a very indifferent phase with his batting across all formats, especially reflected by his form for Rajasthan Royals this year.
Dean Jones was quoted saying, "I did expect Williamson to do well. (David) Warner (Australia) not playing here has helped him enormously, Given the opportunity you take it and he has picked it with both hands and reminded everyone in the world because it is the best T20 League in the world, how good he is,"
"Because of that he has built confidence. And now Sunrisers have put a lot of pressure on him, because if he hadn't made any runs, Sunrisers would have been in lot of trouble. But he has been the glue"
"You have other guys like (Gautam) Gambhir (who quit midway as captain of Delhi Daredevils), (Ajinkya) Rahane, for example, also classical players who might be wise to give him a call, watch him and see how he has gone about getting his strike rates into 130s-140s"
He further explained saying, "You tell me that Kane Williamson (who has scored 625 runs from 13 games so far) is stronger than Rahane and Gambhir, of course not, but the fact is that he has played with a bit more freedom and he gets into classic positions before he hits a ball. He has done very well and shown there is a spot in T20 for classical player"
Dean Jones who is doing commentary and television work for StarSports during this IPL also talked about the youngsters which have impressed him with their performances. He pointed out some bright names and said, "The one I have been impressed (with) the most is Shubman Gill. (He is) more of a classical player. I think Prithvi (Shaw of Delhi Daredevils) has got a couple of holes in his technique here and there and will get better. He is a very good player. They are just kids, these boys are just 18 (years-old) and these guys are smashing sixes and fours and winning games in T20 cricket,"
"Markande has been great and I have loved him. (Shivam) Mavi (of KKR)- I have been impressed with how he has gone with his work. I also like Karun Nair (Kings XI). He has not quite done a lot yet, but he is around for a long time and has got a triple hundred (in Tests). I always like the way he goes about his game. And KL Rahul (Kings XI) - an absolute super-star,"
