Kane Williamson

A naturally gifted batter throughout his career, Kane Williamson is now considered one of the finest cricketers that the island nation has ever produced, as well as one of the finest batters of his generation as part of cricket’s ‘Fab Four’.

A zen-like presence at the crease and a fan-favourite for many across the world, the soft-spoken Kiwi has led his country to international glory and provided the standard for New Zealand cricket, and is well on his way to staking a claim as his country’s finest export.

Cricket always his path — a young Williamson

Born in a cricketing family, the right-hander was a sensation from his school days and went on to represent Northern Districts at the Under-17 level. He made his first-class debut against Auckland in 2007 before captaining New Zealand in their 2008 Under-19 WC campaign. A decent 2008-09 season was followed by a fantastic 2009-10, where he excelled particularly in the shorter format scoring 621 runs at an average of 77.62.

Soon enough, Kane Williamson was the worst-kept secret in international cricket, the next in a long line of Kiwi stars. He made his ODI debut in 2010 against India, and despite a tough start to life, he went on to score his maiden century against Bangladesh soon after.

However, Test cricket was always Kane Williamson’s calling. He became the eighth Kiwi cricketer to score a century on debut, tonning up against India in Ahmedabad and announcing himself to the wider stage.

Path set for captaincy

Williamson continued to perform well in international cricket in the first half of the 2010s, and was in fact the strongest performer as a young batter amongst Martin Crowe’s fab four. Four centuries in 2014 and five more in 2015 made him one of the best batters in Tests in that period.

He appointed the deputy to Brendon McCullum for the 2015 World Cup, a tournament which had his signature limited overs knock as his battling 45* earned the Black Caps that famous one-wicket win over Australia in Auckland, hitting the match-sealing six straight down the ground.

Williamson took over permanent captaincy of New Zealand across all formats the following year, taking over from Brendon McCullum in as big a personality change at the top as one can expect.

Finally getting their hands on ICC silverware

Kane Williamson guided New Zealand to the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup, scoring 578 runs and winning player of the tournament honours as the Kiwis fell agonisingly short by the infamous boundary count.

Two years later, Williamson finally got his hands on the elusive ICC trophy after a host of losing finals, as he captained New Zealand to the inaugural World Test Championship trophy against India. His 49 in the first innings and 52* to complete the chase was a crowning moment for the Kiwi star.

IPL glory with SRH

Kane Williamson is synonymous with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, despite not being renowned for his T20 batting. After winning the tournament in 2016, Williamson shocked all by having a monster season in 2018, piling on 735 runs and winning the orange cap after stepping in as captain in lieu of David Warner.