Virat Kohli's white-ball captaincy exit will release weight off his shoulders: Tim Southee

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee said that Virat Kohli will be contributing in some leadership form or another despite stepping down as white-ball captain of India.

New Zealand pacer Tim Southee heaped rich praise on Virat Kohli while adding that his white-ball captaincy exit will ease off the weight of pressure from his shoulders. The BCCI named Rohit Sharma as India's new ODI skipper as Virat Kohli was relieved from the captaincy duties in limited-overs cricket.

Southee and Kohli have shared a professional relationship since their U19 days, when India, led by Virat Kohli, defeated a New Zealand side, with Tim Southee as the bowling spearhead, in the semi-finals of the 2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup.