OPINION: Only Kane Williamson could manage to sneak away from the vibrancy of the Indian Premier League, tucking an orange cap under his arm, without anyone actually noticing what he'd accomplished.
It was a strange sight during the glitzy competition to see the Blackcaps' captain taming the best the world held to offer - his factory-built test-match game adapting and thriving in front of a screaming audience.
Because Williamson's success in the IPL didn't make sense.
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No one thought he'd finish the tournament as the top run-scorer, with eight half-centuries at an average of 52.50 and a strike rate of 142.44.
Williamson is meant to play cricket on a sunny afternoon in England, with a cool breeze drifting over the sight screen.
You'd happily stick his game on a postcard - the classical drives, controlled pull shots, glorious punches through cover on his toes, angling the ball down to third man with the ease of a raindrop sliding down a window.
Williamson and the IPL should fit together like a glove and a foot.
Yet amid a cacophony of noise and colour, with the lights glaring into his eyes, he calmly stood and surveyed.
He pierced gaps through the covers, shuffled across to the off stump and whipped deliveries into the leg side. There were cracking pull shots that flew to the boundary, and low full-tosses that were picked up like a forklift and dropped for six.
Against the spin, he used his feet, hitting over cover, forcing the bowler to drop it in short, where he waited and smashed it to mid wicket.
His beard was the only thing he didn't seem to have under control.
And all of this in the cauldron of the IPL. The Bollywood stars, the pulsating lights, rabid fans and Danny Morrison's one-liners to the camera.
That's what makes Williamson's resurgence in Twenty20 cricket even more impressive. He was the most understated star in the most ostentatious sports competition.
The 27-year old has always been a magnificent test and ODI player - T20s required a bit more thought.
There were serious questions about his place in the national side last summer, particularly following that miserable 8 off 30 against Australia in Sydney.
His exploits in the IPL and his developing international record are proving the doubters wrong.
For the Blackcaps, he's averaging a tick over 31, at a healthy strike rate of 120.95.
Williamson's biggest downfall - and greatest strength - in the short form of the game is that he makes people uncomfortable.
You don't watch Twenty20 cricket to see cover drives and elegant whips off the hip.
You want the nonchalant power of Colin de Grandhomme, the brutality of Colin Munro or the switch-hitting of AB de Villiers.
Williamson's not only forcing the bowlers to adapt, he's forcing the fans to as well. He doesn't fit the mould of a Twenty20 batsman, so he's simply created a new on.
If the Sunrisers Hyderabad could have David Warner or Kane Williamson, who would they pick?
Warner, hands down, even though the New Zealander carried his team into the final this year.
There will always be an anti-Williamson bias because he plays Twenty20 wrong. Yes, he can still clear the boundary, but he's not blazing away and carving shots onto the roof of the stadium.
Yet his form shows he should be one of the first names on the list in the New Zealand side.
Williamson won't tear the curtain down and launch into a dazzling performance. Instead, he’ll be quietly tinkering away, making sure everything runs smoothly - a master of efficiency.
And when the applause ramps up, when his teammates bow and smile at the crowd, he’ll be moving off into the shadows, orange cap tucked under his arm.
Henry Rounce is a multi-platform producer at Newshub.
