New Zealand pacer Tim Southee believes that Virat Kohli will always contribute in some leadership form irrespective he holds the captaincy position or not. Southee, who played under both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in IPL, also feels that Rohit will be benefitted to have a leader like him (Virat) alongside.
The veteran Kiwi pacer was speaking to Amazon Prime in an interview. Notable that Amazon Prime bagged the rights to live stream the matches to be in New Zealand for the next 5 years
Tim Southee also said that Virat Kohli might conserve all his captaincy energy and channel it to his batting.
“I don’t know what it was like to captain India and the pressures that come with it. Not only that, but IPL as well. He’s done it over a period of time. It will be interesting from a fan point of view to see him put all his energies on captaincy and channel them into his batting and fielding,” Southee spoke to Amazon Prime.
“I am sure it’s a weight off his shoulders, and the person that he is, he will be contributing in some leadership form or another throughout the rest of his playing days,” he added further.
Tim Southee played under both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in IPL
Earlier Virat Kohli also resigned from RCB’s captaincy as well but he emphasized committing to the franchise till his retirement. Southee, who played 6 games for RCB, said that any new captain would love the company of Virat.
“I am sure it will be great for the new captain of RCB, and Rohit Sharma and Team India, to have someone like Virat to turn to and have a shoulder to lean on out of the field as well. You see him as a very passionate guy who loves the game and brings energy for the side. Just how much time he puts in the game. I got to know him away from the game as well (at RCB), sitting over a coffee, drink or dinner and talk and find out about his interests.” The Kiwi pacer stated.
Southee isn’t much fussed about the lack of runs from the Indian Test skipper. He believes that it’s a matter of time before he will get back to scoring hundreds. Noteworthy that Virat Kohli hasn’t scored an international hundred since November 2019.
“I guess it happens when you bat the way Virat bats and score the volume of runs he gets, you have set such high standards. Then, for some games or however long he has not been as amazing as we are used to seeing,” Southee said.
New Zealand will start their home summer with the test series against Bangladesh, starting on January 1, 2022.
Also Read: “Virat Kohli Could Have Picked Up The Phone And Spoken To BCCI,” Believes Aakash Chopra