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"The Greatest All-Format Player…," Williamson Calls Virat Kohli The Best Modern-Era Cricketer

Aashay Chopade

Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli (Source:@ICC/X.com)Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli (Source:@ICC/X.com)

Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson are two of the finest batting talents of the modern era. They have dominated a lot of batting charts in the last decade or so and share a close relationship on and off the field.

Virat Kohli has now retired from T20Is and Test cricket, while Kane Williamson's appearances in national colours have also been pretty selective. The mutual respect, though, is still there, and now in a chat with SkySports, Kane Williamson has shared his equation with Virat Kohli.

Williamson Highlights Virat Kohli's Excellence In Last 15 Years

The Kiwi legend starts with calling Virat Kohli probably the greatest all-format batter of the last 15 years. He added that Kohli had his share of challengers and mentioned that it is a big thing to stay at the top for a long time in such a cricket-obsessed country. Williamson also stated that his relationship with counterparts like Kohli, Smith and Root has evolved in different ways over the years, and all of them find a way to stay connected with each other.

"Well, and then obviously very, you know, the probably the greatest all-format player that we've seen for probably in the last 15 years. You know, and had as his own challenges, right and an absolutely cricket-obsessed country, and he's been on top of that. It's great. So the relationships and friendships with all of them have evolved in slightly different ways, and they stay in touch in a lot of ways."

Williamson also dashed away any competitive spirit between the players, and it is just about wanting to make their team win. He added that he will miss not being able to play against Virat Kohli and added that their relationship has come full circle.

Kohli-Williamson's Parallel Journeys Towards Stardom

Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson captained their respective countries in the U19 World Cup 2008 and since then have been involved in many competitive battles across the formats.

Their personal lives also have a tinge of similarity, and Williamson mentioned that it seemed that their careers had progressed almost in parallel to each other. The former New Zealand captain also revealed that they do connect on different levels with their personal life too and how things have changed as they have turn older.

"But yeah, not really. That sort of competitive thing. think you're just in a team that you're wanting to compete as a team and do all those sorts of things. Yeah, we did.Not battling out there with him, shouting. No. Yeah, it's quite funny. This full circle you know and and there's the other part is that actually you've not just played cricket, but you've kind of lived your lives, you know, in some sort of parallel way. For a huge sort of percentage of your loss, whether it's having kids at similar times, whether that's just having you know, the different things that you've experienced as you get a little bit older and so you do connect, yeah, on different levels."

Thus, Kane Williamson has once again shown the deep respect and bond he shared with Virat Kohli. The Indian star, too, has spoken on similar lines in the past, and the two might be seen battling against each other one final time in the 2027 ODI World Cup.