Virat Kohli showed me the mirror: Kane Williamson on retirement chat with Indian star

Kane Williamson has revealed that a chat with close friend and India star Virat Kohli helped him decide to pursue the challenge of retiring from international cricket. Williamson said Kohli showed him a mirror the day before he decided to call time on his career.

The former New Zealand captain has decided to retire from international cricket with immediate effect June during the England Test serieshe decided not to take a well-deserved farewell from the sport.

Williamson has brought down the curtain on his 16-year international career without reaching the coveted mark of 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Interestingly, Kohli also failed to reach the same milestone before announcing his retirement from the format.

The two batting greats share a close friendship and Williamson turned to Kohli for advice as he considered his decision to retire from international cricket.

“I’ve spoken to a number of people that I trust and I’ve been really close with them. And then I actually had a really great chat with Virat like the day before I announced it and it was really like looking in the mirror and sharing the experiences that we’ve had in the game for so long,” Williamson said on the ‘Between the Two Beers’ podcast.

SPECIAL BOND WITH KOHLI

Williamson and Kohli are considered part of the Fab 4 of modern cricket as they have influenced all three formats of the game for a long time.

Williamson said he shares a special bond with the Indian star and doesn’t mind sharing some matters close to his heart with Kohli.

“Kohli’s still playing a little bit, but for the most part he’s made some of those big decisions, like honestly just cheering. I don’t think there’s anyone else, not even the players in your own team, some of whom have been in the exact same position for exactly the same amount of time as the captain, the kids at the same time.

“It’s like we’re living this parallel thing. We’ve had a really pretty weird relationship, but even though they’re different worlds, and it’s just been a great thing to be able to share some of that really vulnerable stuff and how you’ve felt and just bond over it and I was like I walked out of there or I got off the phone and my wife walked into the hotel room and I was like, it’s time,” Williamson said.

Kohli retired from T20Is in 2024 and from Tests in 2025, but remains active in ODIs. He is currently part of a side tour of New Zealand for a five-match series.

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