I would back Kane Williamson ahead of Virat Kohli to bat under tougher conditions: Glenn Turner

There has been much debate about the ‘Fab Four’ batsmen of the modern era. Two prolific skippers and batsmen who are considered an integral part of the ‘Fab Four’ list are– Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson.

In the second half of the decade, after Kohli took over as captain of India in Test cricket and then in white-ball cricket. There was no looking back for Kohli after that as he scripted many records to his name. Along with his leadership, his run-scoring spree also grew by leaps and bounds.

Over the years, ‘King Kohli’ has established himself as one of the best across all formats. However, after India’s Test series loss against New Zealand at the start of the year, questions were raised about Kohli’s ability to ply his trade in difficult conditions.

Former New Zealand captain and batting great Glenn Turner has said that he backs Kiwi skipper Williamson over Kohli when it comes to batting on challenging surfaces.

“The significant differences between talented batsmen are generated by the playing conditions they were brought up on, along with their personalities,” the 73-year-old Turner told The Telegraph from Dunedin as per a report in Telegraph India.

“Kohli is less likely to have been exposed early in his development to seaming pitches and the ball continuing to swing for extended periods, whereas Williamson will have experienced those conditions more often,” he added.

Kohli’s personality appears to be more aggressive: Glenn Turner

According to Turner, Kohli’s forte lies in playing on pitches that aid spin bowling. Having been less exposed to seaming pitches, Turner believes that Kohli is a step behind Williamson in that aspect. Williamson, according to Turner, has the experience to play under these conditions more often.

“Kohli’s greater exposure to pitches that take turn will have him more accustomed to playing spin better. Conditions less favourable for swing and seamers will also have allowed him more opportunities to become good at aggressively dominating that type of bowling.

Besides, Kohli’s personality appears to be more naturally aggressive and confrontational than Williamson’s, but that does not leave either party with less determination to succeed. Their main motivation to succeed is contrasting, but so what!” said Turned.

“I would only say that under tougher batting conditions, I would back Williamson ahead of Kohli. Under good batting conditions, Kohli is likely to be more dominant, thereby providing his team with more time to get a favourable result,” he further explained.