'You are not getting younger' - Kane Williamson opens up about Virat Kohli's sudden Test retirement

Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson shared his insights about Virat Kohli's Test retirement, which happened in May 2025. The legendary Indian batter, who always prided himself on playing the red-ball format, shook the entire cricketing fraternity by hanging up his boots in the longest format of the game before the England series. Speaking during his ongoing stint in the country, where Williamson is leading the London Spirit in The Hundred, the Kiwi batter said the Indian batter's decision reminded him how long they have been playing all round.

For the unversed, Kohli and Williamson started their careers simultaneously during their Under-19 playing days. Both icons went on to have a significant impact on their respective countries.  While Kohli has quit playing Test & T20I formats, Williamson is still active in all formats, albeit not being a centrally contracted player.

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"You never really consider it, and you do see some of your opponents and mates making some of these decisions, and you think, gosh, it has been a while," Williamson said. "You are not getting younger. It's a reality at some stage."

Notably, Kohli was also the first among the 'Fab four' to quit playing two formats of the game. Steven Smith followed him by quitting the ODI format after the Champions Trophy 2025 event. The other two 'Fab Four', Joe Root and Williamson, are still active in all formats for their respective countries.

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"For someone like Virat, who made that decision to go out on his own terms and do what he's done for the game, that's amazing. That's so special," Williamson added.

Kane Williamson lauds Joe Root's phenomenal Test record

The Kiwi star also lavished huge praise on Root for surpassing Jacques Kallis & Rahul Dravid to be second in the position for run-getters list in Test cricket. Now, only Sachin Tendulkar stands between the Englishman & the world record.

"Joe's just remarkable with what he's doing and where he's going and the things he's ticking off at the moment. It's incredibly special and great to follow," he said. He's a little bit younger than me, which is even scarier. He could keep going, and it feels like he could well do for about 20 years."

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Currently, the Kiwi is in London playing The Hundred. He was allowed to skip the ongoing two-match Test series against Zimbabwe.