Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson is as good as his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli, said ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan, adding that the New Zealand captain is 'silent about what he does'.
Williamson and Kohli will be up against each other when India and New Zealand lock horns in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final from June 18th. Vaughan, who recently had to face the heat from fans for his comments on Indian pitches, said that Williamson gets overshadowed by Kohli due to the latter's massive fan-following on social media.
“If Kane Williamson was Indian, he would be the greatest player in the world. But he’s not because you’re not allowed to say that Virat Kohli is not the greatest, because you’d get an absolute pelting on social media.
"So, you all say Virat is the best purely to get a few more clicks and likes, few more numbers following here. Kane Williamson, across formats, is equally the best. I think the way he plays, the calm demeanor, his humbleness, the fact that he is silent about what he does," Vaughan told Spark Sport.
Vaughan also pointed Kohli's struggles in English conditions barring his most recent outing to the country. The 2005 Ashes-winning captain also predicted Williamson getting more runs than Kohli this summer.
While Kohli has aggregated 7,490 runs from 91 Tests at an impressive average of 52.37, Williamson has scored 7115 runs from 83 Tests with a slightly better average (54.31). However, the Indian skipper has 27 Test tons to his name, three more than Williamson.
“Kane Williamson has mostly had success. I’m not just saying it because I’m speaking to you guys in New Zealand but I think Kane Williamson is right up there with the great players across the three formats and certainly matches Virat Kohli.
"It’s just that he doesn’t have the 100 million followers on Instagram and doesn’t earn the $30-40 million or whatever Virat gets every year for his commercial endorsements.”
“I think recently, a lot of pundits have been shouting for him (Kohli), whether he likes that or not, I’m not too sure. In English conditions, against the moving ball, Virat did enjoy success the last time he came in, but other than that he has struggled," said Vaughan.
