Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has reflected on the much-discussed ‘Fab Four’ comparison involving himself, Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steve Smith, admitting that he now views their parallel careers as a unique chapter in cricket history. Williamson, who retired from international cricket in June after a 16-year career, said he rarely paid attention to the comparisons while playing.
However, having brought his international journey to an end, he has developed a different perspective on the experience of competing alongside three of the modern era’s finest batters.
The 35-year-old finished as New Zealand’s leading run-scorer with 19,346 international runs, including 9,515 in Test cricket. Kohli also retired from the longest format in 2025, ending his Test career with 9,230 runs. Meanwhile, Smith and Root remain active, having scored 11,003 and 14,278 Test runs respectively.
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Speaking on the Stick To Cricket podcast, KaneWilliamson described the experience of sharing a generation with the three batters as something special. “I never thought anything about it. You would hear it often because it would get put in front of you, but in some ways, now that I have finished, it feels unique. Not because of the numbers, but because we had quite parallel careers and actually got to know each other,” Williamson said.
Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson! 🤩
Are ‘The Fab Four’ good mates off the field? 😅 https://t.co/9JdZqQrORo
— Stick to Cricket (@StickToCricket) November 10, 2026
He also highlighted how each player followed a different path while representing their respective countries, making the rivalry more memorable.
“Everybody did it differently while representing their respective countries. I look back on it not with pride in the tag or anything like that, but because there was a moment in time when we competed against each other for so long,” he added.
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Williamson also shared his personal connections with the trio, having played alongside Root at Yorkshire and known Kohli since their Under-19 days. The term ‘Fab Four’ was coined by late New Zealand great Martin Crowe in 2014, identifying the four batters as potential defining figures of international cricket.
