Kohli showed me the mirror: Williamson on retirement chat with Indian star

Kane Williamson revealed how a heartfelt conversation with Virat Kohli helped him make the decision to retire from international cricket. The former New Zealand captain said Kohli showed him the mirror just a day before his retirement.Williamson said that he shares a special bond with Kohli (Courtesy: PTI)Kane Williamson revealed that a chat with close friend and India star Virat Kohli helped him decide on going ahead with the call of retiring from international cricket. Williamson said that Kohli showed him the mirror a day before he decided to call time on his career.The former New Zealand captain decided to walk away from international cricket with immediate effect in June during the England Test series, deciding not to even take a well-deserved farewell from the sport.Williamson brought the curtain down on his 16-year international career without reaching the coveted 10,000-run mark in Test cricket. Interestingly, Kohli also fell short of the same milestone before announcing his retirement from the format.The two batting greats share a close friendship, and Williamson turned to Kohli for advice as he weighed up the decision to walk away from international cricket. "I spoke to a number of people I trust and I've been really really close with. And then I actually had a really really cool chat with Virat like the day before I announced it and it was really like looking in the mirror just sharing the experiences that we've had in the game for so long," Williamson said on 'Between the Two Beers' podcast.A SPECIAL BOND WITH KOHLIWilliamson and Kohli are considered to be part of the Fab 4 of modern cricket, as they made a long-lasting impact on all three formats of the game. Williamson said that he shares a special bond with the Indian star and doesn't mind sharing some of the matters close to his heart with Kohli."He's (Kohli) still playing a little bit, but largely he made some of those big decisions and that like honestly just cheering There's no one else I think, even players in your own team from, at 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, 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 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," said Williamson.Kohli retired from T20Is in 2024 and from Tests in 2025 but remains active in ODIs. He is currently part of the side touring New Zealand for a five-match series.- Ends