New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has complemented his Test counterpart, Virat Kohli, stating that the 27-year-old was a great player and he really admired him and his ability to excel across formats.
“Virat Kohli’s a great player. His ability to dominate the way he does across formats is something very special and certainly something that I admire. I love watching him play and you can learn a lot from a player like that,” Williamson said in a press conference in New Delhi.
He further felt that other two big names Steve Smith and Joe Root were very fine players as well and admitted hat all four cricketers were different in their own right.
“You mentioned the other names- Steve Smith and Joe Root. Both great players as well. They are different players and have different strengths. Trying to stick to their own game plans and that I suppose that is the beauty of the game that everyone can do it differently and have some success,” he added.
Speaking about the team’s chances, the right-hander said that India in their own conditions is one of the toughest challenges and team was excited to get involved.
“We have our three very good spinners as well. It should be a good contest. We know it will be a challenge. India in their home is one of the toughest challenges in the game, particularly in the Test format. So the team are excited to get involved and look to adapt, having come from South Africa, Zimbabwe where conditions are quite different," he said.
When asked about knowing the Indian conditions, thanks to the exposure through the IPL, Williamson said that that experience will come in handy, but formats are different and pitches could be different as well.
“The IPL is a fantastic experience. A number of guys in this side have been a part of that for a few years and no doubt that will help, although the format is different. We will have to prepare well. The pitches here in the last year or so have been different to the one that we have played in the IPL. So we will need to take that into account,” he said.
