Former New Zealand captain and predecessor of Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum commended the ‘brilliant’ leadership of both Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli for their teams’ qualification into the first World Test Championship final.
He pointed out that the longest format demands a proactive approach from captains to induce favourable situations and both these leaders have been able to achieve that feat while also leading their sides from the front with the bat in hand.
“Both Virat and Kane have led their sides brilliantly. Their own forms have been superb. To be able to qualify for the WTC final is a massive achievement. To reach the final of WTC, the results they needed for a long period. You have to force the situations in Test cricket to garner success in the longest format of the game. Both captains have pushed their teams to excel, and I believe they rightfully deserve the opportunity to play in the final,” McCullum said on Sports Today.
However, he did not miss out on detailing the difference in the leadership style of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. He underlined Williamson’s calmness while trying to be dominant against Kohli’s ultra-aggressive approach in leading his side.
“They are inspirational leaders but lead their teams indifferently. One (Kohli) is out and out aggressive, while the other (Williamson) is a dominant leader but is not as expressive as his counterpart. They are true ambassadors of the game and are the must-watch talents of the present time,” McCullum added.
The World Test Championship final will be played in Southampton from June 18 to 22 and both sides will be eager to clinch the trophy to stamp their dominance over the world in the longest format.