New Zealand's unbeaten start to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup has been marred by the news that captain Kane Williamson has a broken thumb and will be unavailable until the end of the tournament.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will miss most league games due to a fracture in his left thumb. Williamson was previously out for six months with a knee injury.

Williamson was hit on his left thumb by an errant throw during a quick single against Bangladesh in Chennai on Friday and scans confirmed the veteran right-hander suffered a non-displaced fracture.

The latest setback is not related to the knee injury Williamson has struggled with in the recent past, but will still keep the experienced captain on the sidelines in the short term.

“Firstly, we all sympathize that Kane will experience something like this after all his hard work rebuilding himself from his knee injury,” head coach Gary Stead said. “Although it is disappointing news, the initial diagnosis makes us optimistic that after a period of rest and rehabilitation he will be able to play in pool play later on.”

“Kane is clearly an important part of our team and a world-class player and captain - so we will look to give him every opportunity to return to the tournament.”

Williamson's thumb and wrist were initially bandaged by the physiotherapist shortly after he was hit at the start of the 38th over of New Zealand's chase against Bangladesh. But then he retired through injury in the 39th over as New Zealand were close to their target, which they achieved with 43 balls remaining and an eight-wicket win - their third in a row in the World Cup.

The game against Bangladesh marked Williamson's return to international action after he tore his ACL in the IPL opener at the end of March this year. He was out of cricket for almost six months and only appeared again in the two warm-up matches before the World Cup, where he scored 54* and 37 against Pakistan and South Africa respectively.

Williamson's absence will leave a large gap in the team that will require the player's spin-playing skills as pitches tire as the 2023 ODI World Cup progresses. In Williamson's absence, Tom Latham will take over as captain.