MELBOURNE: Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, is unconcerned about his team not being considered the favourites before every major competition, claiming that he has no control over what people think of them and instead wants to concentrate on the cricket in the lead-up to the Men's T20 World Cup.

New Zealand boasts an impressive track record at ICC competitions. They placed second in the finals of the last two ICC Men's ODI World Cups, second in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, and they won the first World Test Championship in England last year. Fans do not, however, view Williamson and company as the favourites to take home the T20 World Cup crown in Australia.

We came here and tried to focus on the cricket we wanted to play and confront what was in front of us, even though we don't really have a say in what people label us. A few months ago, we played these people in the World Cup final, which was a really memorable event for us. "Everyone has different tags and rankings that move up and down during the year, and I assume they end up with different names. It was a terrific game of cricket, and these sorts of competitions are usually quite special to be a part of. Williamson stated this during the captains' day event in Melbourne, "But you come here in tournament sport on any day, anything can happen, especially looking across all these sides with match winners throughout.

New Zealand had to battle with ailments leading up to the T20 World Cup, including an abdominal injury to fast bowler Lockie Ferguson during the most recent tri-series and an injured hand to all-rounder Daryl Mitchell.

When asked for an update on the two, Williamson responded, "Lockie is tracking extremely well. Daryl is sort of a day-by-day issue. Despite a few minor niggles in the camp, we're hoping that the timing will be on our side and they'll be prepared when needed. Before beginning their T20 World Cup Super 12 campaign against the defending champions and hosts Australia in a rematch of the 2021 final at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on October 22, New Zealand will travel to Brisbane to play warm-up matches against South Africa and India.

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