New Zealand captain Kane Williamson described his hamstring injury a 'minor' one, but admitted that an elbow niggle is affecting his grip, even as he played down concerns over his fitness ahead of the Black Caps' T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan on October 26.
A day after New Zealand coach Gary Stead expressed confidence about his availability, Williamson also struck a note of optimism ahead of the match in Sharjah. The T20 World Cup starts on October 17.
"Minor, (it's) okay, progressing well. So, there are no complaints," he responded, to a query during a conference call with media, arranged by the ICC, on Thursday.
He, however, conceded that recovery has been slow from an elbow problem, which has been bothering him for a while.
"It has just been a bit of a slow-burner....quite frustrating for a long period of time. However, it has definitely improved a bit over the last two months I've had after the World Test Championship," he was later quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"On rehab, it has definitely seemed to move forward, which is refreshing, but still a little bit of time to get back to a 100 per cent," he said.
Elaborating how it was impacting his batting, the Kiwi mainstay said, "Basically, just gripping and then extending."
"...it has been frustrating certainly when it was at its worst. But the harder you grip and further you extend, the more it seems to be disruptive. Like I said there's been a lot of improvement over the last three months, which is good."
Talking about his side's preparations, Williamson said it is great to have former pacer Shane Bond in the team's support staff.
"With all his experience he has had from around the world, and also particularly in this part of the world (in the UAE) with Mumbai (Indians in the IPL), he is very good at what he does," Willimson said.
"He will assist our bowling coach and help in any way that he can, so he will be there around the group anyway, he is a lot fun," he added.
Bond was the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.
New Zealand, who won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship earlier this year, have always entered ICC events with the underdogs tag, but, for Williamson, it doesn't matter.
"I mean the tags are tags. Everybody has different ones, so it is fine... there are match-winners throughout and anyone can beat anyone on day, so it is a pretty exciting prospect for the viewers, no doubt," he said.
According to him, making adjustments quickly is important in events like the T20 World Cup, when sides face different opposition at different venues.
"It is a pretty short tournament, so you want to hit the ground running and try and get a bit of momentum early. In these sort of events, when you play different opposition, every sort of three days at a different venue, there are some adjustments to make quite quickly.
"It is great to be here to join up with the New Zealand team and lot of exciting about the group and getting involved," he added.
