Recently, Michael Vaughan had said Kane Williamson would be called "world's best batsman" if he were an Indian.
Ex-England spinner Monty Panesar has commented on Michael Vaughan's statement comparing India captain Virat Kohli and New Zealand's skipper Kane Williamson. The former England captain had said Williamson would have been called the world's best batsman if he was an Indian with a huge fan base.
“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 that 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 demeanor, his humbleness, the fact that he is silent about what he does,” Vaughan had told Spark Sport.
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Panesar rates Kohli higher than Williamson and he feels the Kiwi cricketer is a little better than Rohit Sharma but below the Indian captain. "I think both are extremely good. Both can steady the team in any situation. If you look at T20Is and ODIs, Virat Kohli is the best chaser. But Kane Williamson plays equally well in all three formats. I think his level is above Rohit Sharma but a little below Virat Kohli.
The former England cricketer further said that if Williamson was an Indian cricketer he would have played in place of Ajinkya Rahane. "If Kane was an Indian, he would probably be an ideal replacement for Ajinkya Rahane in the Test batting line-up," he told Sports Yaari.
Panesar further talked about the upcoming Test series between India and England, in which he backs the Kohli-led side to beat the hosts by 5-0.
"The first factor is that the matches will start in August, which has the warmest weather in the year. The second factor is that there are five Test matches taking place in a short span of time and India play well when they have the momentum," he said.
"Thirdly, India’s seam options are brilliant. It wasn’t the case earlier. And the most important is that ever since Alastair Cook retired, England’s top order batting hasn't been good," he added.
(With Inputs from Sports Yaari)