Indian skipper Virat Kohli and New Zealand Captain Kane Williamson are two of the best batsmen in the modern era and are also known to share a great bond. In fact, the two talismanic cricketers have heaped rich praises over each other on many previous occasions. Recently, the Kiwi star opened up about his relationship with the top-ranked ODI batsman and said he’s ‘fortunate’ to know Kohli from his childhood days. Willamson revealed that despite being completely opposite in nature, the two share the same thoughts on many topics. ‘Love Our Chats’: Virat Kohli Shares Throwback Picture With ‘Good Man’ Kane Williamson.

"Yes, we are fortunate to play against each other. It has been great to meet at a young age and follow his progress as well as his journey," Kane Williamson said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected. On being asked when his friendship with Kohli actually blossomed, the Black Caps captain said it was the last few years when they started talking more.

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"It's been interesting, we've had to play against each other for a long period of time. But actually, probably over the last few years we just shared our views on the game, some honest thoughts and found some common grounds and despite perhaps playing the game little bit differently in terms of physically and may be our on-field characters I suppose," he added.

Kohli’s India defeated Willamson’s New Zealand in the semi-finals of 2008 Under-19 World Cup. A decade later, however, the scores were settled as New Zealand in the semi-finals of 2019 World Cup.

In fact, India’s last international assignment before the COVID-19 lockdown was also against New Zealand. The Men in Blue clinched the T20I series 5-0. However, the home side made a brilliant comeback and clinched the ODI and Test series.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2020 03:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).