Following Virat Kohli's recent retirement from Test cricket, Kane Williamson — a contemporary and fellow member of the famed "Fab Four" — has opened up on how the decision has made him reflect on his own Test journey.
Williamson, also 34 years old, admitted that Kohli stepping away from the longest format prompted him to consider his own "end point" in Test cricket.
“My first thought was, ‘oh gosh, there’s an end point.’ Because before that, you’re on the journey, there’s a pursuit there. And it’s not connected to those other three, but we’ve all been playing at the same time, and we’ve all competed against each other for a long time and we all know each other pretty well. So then you do start to reflect a little bit. I know Virat pretty well, we’ve chatted a lot over the years, but you do realise that we’re not just cricketers as well, we’re human beings and your life situation changes,” Williamson told The Guardian in an interview.
Despite that moment of introspection, Williamson remains involved in international cricket — albeit on his own terms.
New Black Caps coach Rob Walter confirmed that Williamson is still committed to representing New Zealand, even though he opted out of the upcoming Test tour of Zimbabwe.
The 34-year-old batting great recently turned down a central contract with New Zealand Cricket for the 2025–26 season, a move that gives him the flexibility to manage his workload and pursue lucrative franchise cricket opportunities.
So instead of playing the two Tests in Bulawayo in late July and August, Williamson will be captaining the London Spirit in The Hundred in England.
"Myself and Kane have had a nice conversation, a long conversation," South African-born coach Walter told the New Zealand Herald.
"It was really great to catch up with him and discuss cricket. It was great to get his lens on New Zealand cricket and the Black Caps. He's been so influential in their success over the years. But then also to discuss what the future might look like. I've said it repeatedly, he's still very committed to the Black Caps, and wants to play international cricket. I don't think it'll be too long until we see that."
After the Zimbabwe series, New Zealand’s schedule includes a T20I series against Australia and two limited-overs series against England in October, followed by a full home series against the West Indies across all formats to end the year.
Williamson stepped down as New Zealand’s white-ball captain after the Black Caps' exit from the T20 World Cup last June, but he did feature in the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
Exactly what his future in the shorter formats looks like remains uncertain, but coach Walter reiterated that Williamson has the freedom to make that call — and that the door remains wide open.
"Quality players stay quality players, and they just work at finding a method to be successful in all formats," Walter added.
"He's a generational talent, I've got no doubt he'd find a way. He's probably jostling with what that actually looks like for him personally. But as I said, quality players find a way."