Kane Williamson names Virat Kohli as best batsman in ODI cricket
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Kane Williamson has rated Virat Kohli as the best cricketer in the One-day cricket while calling Steve Smith as the best Test player. The Sunrisers player has also reminisced the memories of his Test debut against India and termed playing against legendary Indian players as a special moment.
Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root have been touted as the ‘fab four’ of modern-day cricket due to their unbelievably consistent performances. While the former three have earned plaudits for their leadership traits as well, Root is still new to the captaincy game.
Williamson praised the abilities of the "fab four" but reserved special praise for Virat Kohli who he called the best one-day player in the world. However, the Kiwi captain picked Steve Smith as the best Test player.
“They're all world-class. I think Steven Smith in Test cricket is playing a different game, isn't he? He's got to be right up there. Virat in ODI cricket... I mean in all formats those three are brilliant. But those two, Virat probably will be #1 in ODIs. Smith in Test cricket would have to be #1. Joe Root's got to be up there in both. He's a brilliant player as well. That's a very, very tough question but great to see those three doing so well in all formats. The way they're able to adapt their game,” Williamson told Cricbuzz in an interview.
Williamson had made his Test debut against India in November 2010 and said that it was a special occasion to savor for him as he played against some of the legends of Indian cricket, whom he idolized while growing up as a cricketer in New Zealand.
“To get the call-up is something special. Something you always dream of. And to play my debut here in India against a number of the greats of the game - Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan, MS Dhoni - it was really special. And actually something to kind of get your head around. Because you've grown up watching these guys for years,
“It was great. Really interesting. For some reason I was quite calm in that game, I really don't know why. I suppose on your debut, you either let go and you're relaxed or you get very very nervous. In all the other debuts, I've been very, very nervous. But for some reason, I seemed to be reasonably calm. And yeah it was nice to be involved with some of those partnerships - Jesse (Ryder) got a 100, Dan (Vettori) batted for a period of time and batted really nicely. I think as a team, we played really well that game.”
The 26-year-old also said that he would pay to watch Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar bat as he really enjoyed watching them and named Dale Steyn as the toughest bowler he ever faced.
Williamson said, “I always enjoyed watching Sachin... Ricky Ponting. Those two will be right up there to watch for me.”
“Yeah...I've faced a very tough spell against Dale Steyn early on, about four years ago. He bowled very fast, but I was fortunate to spend most of the spell down at the other end.”
