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New Zealand’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final are in jeopardy after the series loss to Sri Lanka. In the aftermath of the cleansweep on Sri Lankan soil, Tim Southee stepped down as captain making way for Tom Latham. Southee hasn’t been at his best of late and it means he isn’t guaranteed a spot in the playing XI when the Kiwis take on India at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on October 16 in the first Test of the three-Test series. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that he had a conversation with Southee and will look to field the best side for the series opener.
"Like all Test tours and series we have reviews at the end of it and Tim and I had a conversation around it, then he made the decision to stand down," Stead said as quoted as saying by ESPN. "He thought it was in the best interests of the team. I supported his decision around that.
"It allows different players to be considered in roles and as a selector and coach you are always trying to put what you think is the very best team out there. With Tim as captain, he was the guy who was starting for us and leading that team and think we were always looking at the options that were best for the team going forward."
Southee working on ‘little technical points’
Southee managed to take just two wickets on Sri Lanka tour. He wasn't at his best against Australia and South Africa in favourable conditions at home either. Stead said that Southee is working hard with coach Jacob Oram to get back to his best.
"From my conversations with Tim he recognised he hasn't been at his best but there's certainly no desire to not get back there," said the 52-year-old. "He's working hard in the background, he's doing everything he can and trying to rediscover what that little thing he feels is missing is.
"There's a couple of little technical points Tim's working on. He's working with [Jacob] Oram around them. We've looked back at quite a bit of video from previous years and times he's played in India and had success. It's just trying to rediscover that and find a little bit, I guess you could call it snap back into his action."
Southee’s record against India
Southee has 52 wickets from 11 Tests against Indian including three five-wicket hauls. On Indian soil, he has 20 wickets from five Tests including two five-wicket hauls.
