Sachin Tendulkar is my childhood hero: Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson, who is considered to be one of the most innovative batsmen in the modern era, seems to be in love with India. Be it his favourite cricketer, food or weather, Kane loves everything Indian. The captain of the

New Zealand

cricket team, who is in Kanpur to play the third One Day International against India, despite a busy schedule, took out time to visit a school in the city and interact with the students there.
Weather is nice in Kanpur
The first thing that impressed Williamson upon reaching Kanpur was the weather of the city. "Just before coming to Kanpur, we played a match in Mumbai. In comparison to Kanpur, it was quite hot there, but the weather in Kanpur is considerably cooler," says Kane.

Kane signing a message board set up at the school in Kanpur (BCCL/ AS Rathor)

Entire team India is a challenge
Ask Kane which Indian cricketer he sees as the biggest challenge and he says, "See, as a captain I don't see any particular Indian cricketer as a challenge. In fact, the entire Indian cricket team is a challenge because it has some of the best batsmen in the world."
"Another big challenge while playing with the Indian cricket team is that its middle order is very strong and the batsmen of this order have the capability of making a decent score. The Indian team also has a good bowling line up. The spinners of team India are a big challenge but despite that, our entire team knows how to focus on our aim."
Sachin Tendulkar is my childhood hero
While he may admire Indian cricketers, Williamson, a right-handed batsman and an occasional off-spinner, admits that he has always been very impressed with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. "I have grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar playing cricket. What impresses me the most in Sachin's style is that he used to be very calm while playing. Cricket is one sport where the pressure mounts on the players in a very short time. Sachin is one such player I have seen, who very skilfully used to handle the pressure. Mostly, when there is a pressure in a match, players start deviating and end up performing badly but Sachin is one who always performed well even under pressure. Apart from Sachin, I also used to enjoy watching Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman playing. In present day cricket, Virat Kohli is a very good player and his game is good to watch," says Kane.
Hyderabadi Biryani is awesome
Having a weakness for Indian cuisine, Williamson says, "Indian food is fantastic. In New Zealand we generally don't have such a vast variety of vegetarian dishes but when I come to India I enjoy lots of vegetarian dishes. Hyderabadi biryani is simply awesome and I really enjoy it. The best thing about Indian food is that its full of flavours and aroma. However sometimes spices are a challenge but Indian food is unmatched."