‘If Kane Williamson was Indian, he would be the greatest player’ - Michael Vaughan takes a jibe at Virat Kohli

Indian captain Virat Kohli is regarded as one of the finest batsmen to have ever taken the cricket field, and his records across formats are jaw-dropping. Regardless of the format, circumstances, or playing conditions, Kohli scored runs and guided India to several memorable triumphs over the years. Owing to his brilliance between 22 yards, many cricket experts have hailed the Indian captain as the undisputed king of modern-day cricket. However, former England captain Michael Vaughan has a different opinion.

Vaughan tends to bag headlines with his controversial statements, and he has managed to do that once again. The former England skipper believes that more than anything else, Kohli’s dominance in world cricket is because he’s an Indian. With over 140 million followers on Instagram and Twitter combined, Kohli is the most followed cricketer on social media. Vaughan believes that this is another reason behind the Indian captain’s stardom. The former cricketer even said that New Zealand Kane Williamson would have been the greatest player had he been an Indian.

You’re not allowed to say that Virat Kohli is not the greatest: Michael Vaughan

“If Kane Williamson was Indian, he would be the greatest player in the world. But he’s not because you’re not allowed to say that Virat Kohli is not the greatest, because you’d get an absolute pelting on social media. So, you all say Virat is the best purely to get a few more clicks and likes, few more numbers following here. Kane Williamson, across formats, is equally the best. I think the way he plays, the calm demeanour, his humbleness, the fact that he is silent about what he does,” Vaughan told Spark Sport.

Vaughan further praised Williamson and highlighted his numbers across formats. However, he opined that the Kiwi star is not in the limelight as he doesn’t have social media followers and endorsement deals such as his Indian counterpart. “It’s just that he doesn’t have the 100 million followers on Instagram and doesn’t earn the $30-40 million or whatever Virat gets every year for his commercial endorsements,” added Vaughan.

Meanwhile, Kohli and Williamson will soon cross swords in the ICC World Test Championship final. The much-awaited clash takes place at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and will get underway on June 18. With the conditions in New Zealand and England being pretty similar, the Kiwis indeed have an advantage. However, India, the top-ranked Test side, has done well overseas lately and would back themselves to beat the Blackcaps.