WTC Final: “You want to get him out as early as possible” - Virat Kohli says camaraderie with Kane Williamson off the field

Team India’s captain Virat Kohli has said that, while he shares a great rapport with Kane Williamson, on the field, they are nothing more than rivals and fierce competitors.

Virat Kohli and Williamson will be leading their respective teams when India and New Zealand clash in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in Southampton from Friday. The amount of admiration Virat Kohli and his opposite number have for each other is quite visible to the naked eye.

At a pre-match conference ahead of the WTC final, Virat Kohli asserted that friendship will take a back seat when the match begins as both him and Kane are professionals. The Indian captain said:

“Me and Kane have become friends over the last few years, playing against each other quite a bit and having conversations off the field as well. But, when you step across that line, you are professionals at the end of the day. You want to get him out as early as possible, like all the other batsmen in the New Zealand team," explained Virat Kohli.

And, they would want to do the same to us. I think the understanding, the bonding and the camaraderie that we have as players from different countries playing the same sport mostly happens off the field. On the field, it is very professional,” he added.

“We are looking at them as opponents that we want to beat, hopefully, in this Test match. That’s all to it. We do stay in touch, we do communicate a bit. When we see each other, it’s always a nice kind of mutual vibe that we have where there’s respect for each other and there’s understanding of who we are as people as well,” Virat Kohli further said about his bonding with Williamson.

🚨 NEWS 🚨Here's #TeamIndia's Playing XI for the #WTC21 Final 💪 👇 pic.twitter.com/DiOBAzf88h

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 17, 2021

Fire and ice the best way to describe Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson: Dinesh Karthik

According to Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, fire and ice would be an apt way to describe Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. Karthik explained that while the Indian captain is highly aggressive, his opposite number likes going about things in a calm manner. In a Twitter space organized by Star Sports, Karthik said:

“As clichéd as it sounds, fire and ice is the best way to put it for both of them. This guy (Virat Kohli) breathes fire, that guy (Kane Williamson) is about cool as it comes.”

Shedding light on the mutual respect that the two captains share for each other, Karthik said “they have a lot of love for each other off the field”. He added

“You go on social media and see; he (Virat Kohli) has got nice things to say about Kane Williamson. They have spent a lot of good times. I think they spend lot of good time together. If I am right, I remember a very clear vision of both of them sitting together of watching, both didn’t play one of those T20 games, they were sitting together. They have lot of respect for each other, and most importantly they will play really hard. One will play easy; one with play with a smile and the other one will play it in your face, but they have a lot of love for each other off the field.”

📸 📸 How's that for a Team Picture ahead of the #WTC21 Final! 👌 👌Drop a message in the comments below 👇 & wish #TeamIndia! 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/j0RQUVpYyu

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 17, 2021

Virat Kohli has scored 877 runs in 14 WTC matches at an average of 43.85 with two hundreds. On the other hand, Williamson has 817 runs from nine matches at an average of 58.35 with three tons.