Black Caps pace bowler Tim Southee has come to the defence of Virat Kohli after the Indian captain's questionable behaviour during this week's Test in Christchurch came under fire.
During day two of the second Test, Kohli was caught on camera appearing to tell the Hagley Oval crowd to "shut the f*** up" and also showed a lot of passion for the dismissal of certain batsmen, including Kiwi opposite Kane Williamson.
But Southee told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report that having played with Kohli in India, he has no issues with the passionate outbursts.
"He's a very passionate guy... and very energetic in the field," Southee told Radio New Zealand.
"He tries to bring out the best in himself."
Southee admitted he wasn't aware of Kohli's actions in the second Test but he believed the match was played in a "competitive nature".
Kohli didn't help his own image after the match, though, refusing to answer a Kiwi journalist's questioning of his on-field behaviour.
The Indian captain was not pleased when it was claimed he swore at Kane Williamson after his dismissal, as well as the crowd. (Source: Other)
“You need to find out exactly what happened and come with a better question,” Kohli said.
“You can’t come here with half questions and half details about what happened.
“Also, if you want to create controversy this is not the right place to be. I’ve spoken to the match referee. He had no issues with what happened.”
Kohli struggled significantly during India's tour of New Zealand, posting just one 50 across five T20s, three ODIs and the two Tests. Across the formats, he averaged 19.8 runs.
In the Test series alone, Kohli had scores of two and 19 in Wellington before following up with scores of three and 14 in Christchurch.
SHARE ME