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Former England cricketer Monty Panesar has shared his views on several Indian cricketers and the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson ahead of the World Test Championship final between the Kiwis and Indian team at Southampton in June. Panesar said Williamson would have been an apt replacement for Ajinkya Rahane if he was an Indian. While earlier, another former England cricketer, Michael Vaughan, had said that Kane would have been the greatest and the most popular cricketer in the world if he was an Indian.
However, Panesar did not agree to Vaughan in this regard. He said that Kane brings in a lot of calmness with Rahane doing the same for the Virat Kohli-led side. As per the former left-arm spinner, Kohli is the better batsman in limited-overs cricket but Kane has been the most efficient in all three formats. The veteran then drew parallels between Williamson, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Kohli is the best chaser in limited-overs cricket, feels Panesar
"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," Panesar was quoted as saying in Sports Yaari.
"If Kane was an Indian, he would probably be an ideal replacement for Ajinkya Rahane in the Test batting line-up," he added.
Panesar yet again backed India to win the upcoming Test series against England 5-0. He reasoned that August will mean warmer conditions in England which could assist the spinners and play to India's strength.
"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.