Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has revealed that a conversation with Virat Kohli played an important role in his decision to retire from international cricket. The two former rivals spoke over the phone just a day before Williamson announced his retirement on June 12, 2026.
Williamson brought his 16-year international career to an immediate end while New Zealand were touring England for a three-match Test series. He managed scores of zero and eighteen during the opening Test at Lord's. The batter finished as New Zealand's leading run-scorer, with 19,346 runs.
Kane Williamson Reveals What Virat Kohli Told Him a Day Before Retirement
Speaking on the Between Two Beers podcast, Kane Williamson recalled having a lengthy conversation with Kohli shortly before making his announcement. The former captain said that their careers had followed similar paths despite representing different countries.
"I spoke to a number of people I trust and I have been really really close with. And then we actually had a really really cool chat with Virat, um like the day before I announced and I really liked looking at the mirror just sharing the experiences that we have had in the game for so long. He is still playing a little bit but largely he made some of those big decisions and that is honestly just sharing," Kane Williamson said.
"There's no one else I think, even players in your own team from times that have just been in that exact same position for the exact same length of time, captaincy roles, children at the same time. Like we sort of live this parallel thing. We had a really quite special relationship, but although different worlds you know and it was just quite a cool thing to be able to share some of that real vulnerable stuff and how you were feeling and just connect over it and I was like I walked out of there or I got off the phone, my wife walked into the hotel room and I was like, it's time," he added.
Kane Williamson Opens Up on Changing Priorities After 16 Years of International Cricket
Kane Williamson also discussed how his motivation towards the game had evolved over the years. He said their conversation focused on the constant pursuit of improvement and how a player's priorities can change after spending a significant part of their life in international cricket.
"It's funny like your approach to the game and how you treat it and how you go about it and if or when that starts to change and that was largely what we were sharing and the pursuit and this was a lot of the conversation it's like man this 16 years on this pursuit and every day is how I get better how do I get this team better every day and we were talking a lot about that and you do it for a long time, your life changes and for the better," he said.
"You Do Have to Put It Down" - Kane Williamson on His Retirement Decision
Kane Williamson acknowledged that walking away from a sport he had loved for so long was not an easy decision. However, he felt players needed to recognise when their reasons for continuing no longer aligned with their personal priorities.
"You know, that's great, isn't it? Like you do something and love it for so long, you give it everything and then you do have to put it down, but your life does change and therefore you can find yourself in positions that you are doing things for reasons that aren't yours, you know and I don't think you can do that for a long time, but I think it's still important that you and it was for me to just understand it a little bit," Williamson added.
"And I was in that space cuz I didn't want to make any sort of drastic decisions on it but I could seek and feel that it was changing a bit. And we were just talking about this and it's funny cuz you play this sport and there's potentially a profile that's attached to it and fans that come and watch, it's amazing to be a part of it. There are not only good days, you know, you get more bad than good I guess in terms of scores next to your name and wins and losses and all these things. So, it was a bit about this stuff, you know," he further said.
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