Virat Kohli Throws His Support Behind Under-Pressure Kane Williamson

Ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand, India skipper Virat Kohli has lavished praise on his opposite number Kane Williamson. The India batting mainstay threw his support behind Kane Williamson who faced criticism from all around for the way he led his side on the disastrous tour of Australia.

The Black Caps were thoroughly outplayed by Australia and suffered a humiliating whitewash in the three-match Test series. Not only the fans but former cricketers including Brendon McCullum criticised Kane Williamson for his captaincy. What made things worse for the New Zealand skipper was his poor batting display.

In the two Tests that he played, his scores read – 34, 14 , 9 and 0. He missed the third and final Test in Sydney due to illness. And as Williamson finds himself under pressure probably for the first time in his captaincy career, he has received some much-needed support from Kohli. The India skipper said that the results don’t always determine the leadership qualities of a person.

“One thing that I have done is I just focus on what I can do for the team and the vision that needs to be there to take the team forward,” Virat Kohli was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz on the eve of the series opener.

“I don’t think leadership can always be determined by the results. Its also about how you can get the team together and get the guys functioning under you as well, which I think Kane has done wonderfully well. He has the respect of his teammates and he has the trust of his teammates, is what I can see, and he’s also a very, very smart cricketer,” he added.

India, meanwhile, will play five T20Is, three ODIs and a couple of Tests in New Zealand. The T20I series will get underway on January 24.

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