'He is a very passionate guy' - Tim Southee defends Virat Kohli's aggressive behaviour in Test series

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper hit the headlines due to his belligerent on-field behaviour in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand. The Indian skipper has received the heat of the fans and cricketing fraternity for the same. However, Kohli has received a strong backing from his Kiwi pacer Tim Southee, who was the part of New Zealand during the Test series. He was one of those bowlers who made the life of Indian batsmen miserable in both the games.

After clinching T20I series by 5-0, nothing went into the corners of Team India as they suffered a whitewash in three-match ODI series followed by another whitewash in the subsequent two-match Test series. A tour that began with a beautiful start ended up being one of the biggest nightmares for the Men in Blue. Meanwhile, the Indian skipper lost his cool during the Test series as he seemed quite angry over his performance as a player in the longer format series.

Tim Southee opines on the on-field behaviour of Virat Kohli

Moreover, he was spotted giving poor send off to the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson using some abusive language. The Indian skipper was also unimpressed with the behaviour of a particular section of fans during the second Test in Christchurch. After the dismissal of Tom Latham in the 1st innings, he pointed towards that section and yelled at them saying– “Shut the F**k up.”

Later on, in the post-match conference, he lost his cool over a journalist, who questioned him over his behaviour in the second Test. In reply, he said that if the journalist wants to create controversy then it is not the right place. Moreover, the match referee is aware of what happened on the field and he doesn’t seem to have an issue with Kohli’s behaviour.

All these instances conclusively backfired due to which he was brought under the scanner by the fans and former greats. Now, Tim Southee, the right-handed pacer from New Zealand has opened up saying that Kohli is a very passionate cricketer, who always wants to give his best on the field. Southee also added that the Indian skipper tries to bring out the best in himself on the field.

“He’s a very passionate guy… and very energetic in the field,” Tim Southee said before adding– “He tries to bring out the best in himself…,” Tim Southee said as quoted by Stuff.co.nz.

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