Veteran New Zealand batter Kane Williamson shared his views on Virat Kohli’s unexpected retirement from Test cricket just before the England tour. Kohli had an underwhelming 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series, and he chose to retire after 123 Test appearances, with 9230 runs to his name, making him the fourth-highest run scorer in the format for India as well.

“Someone like Virat.. so many great moments throughout the international game but really the bond outside of the pitch is something that’s you know far more special and those experiences that have been shared together. All good things come to an end, and the way he’s been able to make those decisions that feel comfortable to him… I think it’s been incredible going out on his terms, etc. Although still involved in one of the formats,” Kane Williamson said in an interview with the Times of India.

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Kane Williamson also shared the dressing room with Shubman Gill in the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the 2023 and 2024 seasons as well. He also played under Gill, who was appointed captain. He also  praised how Shubman Gill has evolved his captaincy to the international level and expects him to dominate the Test
Cricket soon also.

“He’s responded beautifully, hasn’t he? I always thought captaincy sits well with Shubman. I know happening in a franchise space is slightly different, you know it’s a shorter sort of project versus captain in your country, which is you know it’s a lot more consuming. Whilst you’re in that role, you’re never out of it. It’s a much larger role sort of on and off the field,” Williamson said.

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“Watching Shubman operate and he’s wise beyond his years and you know that responsibility is naturally something that he would look to take on. So hearing him get that opportunity was no surprise to me but you know the quality of the player is something that goes without saying. He’s absolutely world-class. And all the other formats throughout… the IPL for a number of years and one day cricket I think he’s top of the tree there. Test cricket really is a matter of time,” Kane Williamson concluded.