Off-field friends - Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson - are two leaders who share a great camaraderie with each other despite their on-field rivalry. Talking about their friendship and the years they have known each other, Willaimson says he is fortunate to known the Indian skipper.
The two have known each other since their U19 days as the duo led their respective sides in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup in Malaysia. The tournament was won by India who defeated Williamson’s Black Caps in the semifinal.
“Yes, we are fortunate to play against each other. It has been great to meet at a young age and follow his progress as well as his journey,” Williamson said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected. “It’s been interesting, we’ve had to play against each other for a long period of time,” he said.
Williamson also said he and Kohli have shared honest opinions about the game. “But actually, probably over the last few years we just shared our views on the game, some honest thoughts and found some common grounds despite, perhaps, playing the game little bit differently in terms of physically and maybe our on-field characters I suppose,” added Williamson.
During India’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year, Kohli and Williamson were seen sitting at the boundary line talking along as their teams battled it out on the field. the two skippers did not play the 5th T20I and India had already taken a 4-0 lead in the series.
Opening up on their conversation on the sidelines, Kohli had said, “Kane and I have similar mindsets, similar philosophies. It is amazing that despite being from different parts of the world, we have similar thinking and we speak the same language.”
