'Kane Williamson needs to look at Virat Kohli. He will never be that player…': Vaughan after New Zealand's shock exit
Michael Vaughan believes Kane Williamson can follow Virat Kohli's T20 template to improve his game in the shortest format.
New Zealand's shocking ouster from the T20 World Cup has created ripples. Ramifications were expected, and it began with Kane Williamson stepping down as captain and declining the 2024-25 Central Contract. Truth be told, New Zealand never recovered from their unexpected 84-run loss to Afghanistan, and once they lost to West Indies by 13 runs, it was always going to be curtains. The wins against Uganda and Papua New Guinea were only saving grace as NZ exited the tournament before the Super Eights – the first time The BlackCaps failed to advance to the knockouts of an ICC tournament since the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
Questions have been asked of New Zealand and the composition of its team. Is it time for transition? Trent Boult has announced his retirement from the format, but Michael Vaughan has touched upon another important topic revolving around Williamson's strike-rate. Williamson in T20Is has been a bit of a letdown. While there is no denying his capabilities as an ODI and Test batter, Williamson finds himself in the same boat as Steve Smith and Joe Root, who were gradually sidelines from their country's T20I set-up. Virat Kohli is the only one from the Original Fab 4 whose T20 game is still strong. Hence, Vaughan suggests Williamson may take a leaf out of his contemporary's work on his strike-rate.
"I don't think he (Kane) is ever going to be a player that strikes at 200. But look at Virat Kohli in this year's IPL, he went from Virat in previous years to suddenly Virat Kohli the modern 2024 player by going for it and being expansive, particularly against the spin, found a couple of lap slog shots which was tremendous to see. And maybe Kane needs to have a look at Virat and see if he can up his tempo by around 15 percent," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.
"If he can get to 140-150 strike rate and be the glue for New Zealand or whatever franchise cricket team he plays for, he is an absolute in every team because you know he is going to be consistent and there or thereabouts scoring runs. He needs to up that strike rate by just 15-20 percent and he'll be scoring consistent runs. I think we've still got a bit of watching Kane Williamson in T20 cricket to do."
Williamson not helping himself: Vaughan
Vaughan's statements came before Williamson's major announcement overnight and only time will tell whether Kane remains part of New Zealand's T20I set-up. But the fact that he is willing to explore opportunities playing in leagues across the world could be an indication that Williamson is not giving up on his T20 aspirations just yet. In the IPL, Williamson went from being the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad to featuring in only a handful of matches for Gujarat Titans. It may still not be the end of the road for Williamson the T20 player, but a tweak is certainly needed.
"I always look at Kane and feel he is the kind of batter that needs to be playing. He needs time in the middle and his rhythm comes and he starts to get that timing. Kane Williamson in the IPL where he is playing 2 or 3 games, don't think it does anything for his batting," mentioned Vaughan.
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