Former England captain Michael Vaughan said Indian star batter Virat Kohli as someone New Zealand captain Kane Williamson should look to for improving his poor T20I strike rate. However, New Zealand suffered a shocking exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup after failing to qualify for the Super Eight stage as well. Moreover, Kane has had a dismal campaign, scoring 28 runs at an average of 14 and a strike rate of under 88 in four games as well.
Talking to Cricbuzz about Williamson’s strike rate, Vaughan said: “I don’t think he (Kane) is ever going to be a player that strikes at 200. But look at Virat Kohli in this year’s IPL, he went from Virat in previous years to suddenly Virat Kohli the modern 2024 player by going for it and being expansive, particularly against the spin, found a couple of lap slog shots which was tremendous to see. And maybe Kane needs to have a look at Virat and see if he can up his tempo by around 15%.”
However, Virat Kohli increased his strike rate in IPL 2024 to over 154 from his overall career IPL strike rate of 131.97 as well. Williamson’s scores of 1 and 9 in New Zealand’s first two outings against Afghanistan and the West Indies, respectively, played a key role in their defeats as well.
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“If he can get to 140-150 strike rate and be the glue for New Zealand or whatever franchise cricket team he plays for, he is an absolute in every team because you know he is going to be consistent and there or thereabouts scoring runs. He just needs to up that strike rate by just 15-20% and he’ll be scoring consistent runs. I think we’ve still got a bit of watching Kane Williamson in T20 cricket to do,” he furthr added.
Michael Vaughan also feels Kane Williamson needs to keep playing the T20 format to be in rhythm. He has played a total of three combined matches in the last two IPLs and only six games for New Zealand in T20Is since the start of 2023 as well. Despite his recent shortcomings, he still boasts excellent T20I numbers, with an average of 33.44 and a strike rate of 123.08 in 93 matches as well.
“I always look at Kane and feel he is the kind of batter that needs to be playing. He needs time in the middle and his rhythm comes and he starts to get that timing. Kane Williamson in the IPL where he is playing 2 or 3 games, don’t think it does anything for his batting,” concluded Michael Vaughan.
