Blackcaps coach Gary Stead has given his biggest indication yet that injured star batter Kane Williamson could make his ODI World Cup squad.
Williamson, 33, suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Indian Premier League in April, all but ruling him out of the World Cup.
However, after returning to the nets last week, and confirmation he will join the Blackcaps squad for their ODI series against England in a non-playing role to continue his rehabilitation, optimism continues to grow.
Stead has revealed should Williamson's expected recovery be before the World Cup playoffs, he would be in with a shot of making the squad to be named in three weeks.
"That is something we are talking about at the moment," he said. "If it's the knockout stages, then I think that might be too late, because you're really saying that you may or may not even be there.
"But if it was earlier in the World Cup, then we would definitely be considering it."
As New Zealand's most experienced batter, Williamson's availability would be a significant boost to Stead's team's chances of lifting the trophy in India.
While Stead is pleased with Williamson's progress, they won't rush him.
"In terms of him being there, it will be about getting a little bit of training under the belt, and being in and around the squad," he said.
"Kane's been to a number of World Cups, and he's been a key player for us, a key member of our team for a long, long time.
"Just leaning on his experience as well will be important to the group, but ultimately, it's about seeing if he is going to be ready or not for us, and that's something only time will still tell.
"It's too early to know, Kane is working very much on a day-by-day, week-by-week process, and I think we've been really clear and careful with him that we don't look too far ahead and get expectations too big, or not big enough at times, as well.
"He's progressed as we've hoped, and possibly even better in some cases, but you know ACL injuries can be difficult.
"They're different from every person, and we will try and get the medical experts around Kane as much as we can to help us make that decision in about three weeks' time."
