The Kiwi skipper endured a poor IPL campaign with Sunrisers Hyderabad but a change of format could make all the difference according to head coach Gary Stead
Kane Williamson has been backed to return to form in time for the England Test series amid a torrid Indian Premier League campaign for the New Zealand captain.
The 31-year-old Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper has turned in one of his worst batting displays in the franchise competition.
Williamson scored 216 runs, including one fifty, in 13 innings at 19.63 with a strike rate of 93.50 - the poorest average of his eight campaigns - before returning home on Tuesday (May 17) to attend the birth of his second child.
He is scheduled to join up with the Test squad a week before the series kicks off at Lord's on June 2.
And head coach Gary Stead hopes the break and change of format can signal an upturn in form for Williamson.
Trent Boult and Daryl Mitchell could miss the start of the England Test series (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
"He's a bit disappointed he hasn't got the runs he wanted during the IPL," Stead told reporters.
"You don't often see the great players often miss out perhaps as much as he has, but I think what we have to understand, coming back in to red-ball cricket, I think that will suit where he's at with his game, his temperament as well."
Tim Southee and Devon Conway are also set to be fully available for the three Tests after their IPL teams Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were knocked out in the group stage.
Rajasthan Royals are, however, bound for the playoffs which could affect the involvement Trent Boult and Daryl Mitchell.
"The only question mark for us is if people are in the IPL final, the closeness of that to the first Test and whether they are ready or not," added Stead.
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