Kane Williamson opened up on his friendship with Indian captain Virat Kohli, saying that they're 'fortunate' to play against each other.
Last month, Indian captain Virat Kohli posted a picture with New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on his Instagram profile. The post read, "Love our chats. Good man @kane_s_w." Virat and Kane have known each other since their U-19 days, when they led their respective sides in the 2008 U-19 World Cup in Malaysia.
Williamson has now opened up on his friendship with the Indian captain, saying that it has developed over the years.
"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.
"It's been interesting, we've had to play against each other for a long period of time. But actually, probably over the last few years we just shared our views on the game, some honest thoughts and found some common grounds and despite perhaps playing the game little bit differently in terms of physically and may be our on-field characters I suppose."
Both the cricketers are widely regarded as the leading batsmen in modern-day era.
While Williamson boasts an average of 51 in Tests, with 6,476 runs in 80 matches, Virat, in 86 matches, has 7,240 runs to his name at an average of 53.6. (ALSO READ: Carried team on his shoulders in 2011 WC: Laxman hails Yuvraj's spirit)
The duo also led their respective teams in the 2019 World Cup and took each other on in the semifinal of the tournament. New Zealand emerged victorious in the game but Williamson's men suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the tournament to hosts England.
Earlier, before India's tour to New Zealand, Virat had publically supported Kane Williamson after the Kiwis faced a whitewash defeat in the Test series against Australia.
"I don't think leadership can always be determined by the results. It's also about how you can get the team together and get the guys functioning under you as well, which I think Kane has done wonderfully well," Virat had said.
"He has the respect of his teammates and he has the trust of his teammates, is what I can see, and he's also a very, very smart cricketer."
(With inputs from IANS)
