Tim Southee finds himself in a curious, and a rather intricate juncture. It has been a year since he announced his retirement from Test cricket, and though he officially is available for selection in New Zealand's white-ball teams, he has not represented the Blackcaps since his last Test.
What has occupied him in the interim? A little bit of everything.
He has worked with the England side as their specialist skills consultant, aiding his former teammate Brendon McCullum’s bowlers in sharpening their craft. In a few months’ time, he will be instructing rising Indian quicks such as Umran Malik and Harshit Rana in the subtleties of pace bowling.
And when he is not imparting his wisdom, Southee is still very much a cricketer. Competing in demanding environments, he recently turned out for Birmingham Phoenix in England’s The Hundred and now leads the Sharjah Warriorz in the United Arab Emirates’ International League T20.
The Quint was present at the ILT20, where we caught up with Southee for an exclusive conversation. Below are excerpts from that interview.
How has the amalgamation of being a player and a coach simultaneously been so far?
Yeah, very lucky at the moment to be able to have the best of both worlds — still being able to play and also coach. I’ve really enjoyed the transition into coaching, giving back to a game that’s given me so much over the years. It’s been rewarding to pass on experiences, help younger players develop, and stay connected to cricket in more ways than one.
This is your second season at the ILT20, and you have the responsibility of leading Sharjah Warriorz. What do you make of the league and the team?
I am very excited. I think it's a great league. I played in the season three edition and really enjoyed my time here with Sharjah. I’m looking forward to season four. I think the quality of cricket is great, it’s a very good standard. The teams have all stacked up pretty well this year, and it should be a great competition and a great season. In season four, I think we’ve seen the competition grow from year to year, and I expect this season to be even bigger and better than it was last year.
You'll be leading Dinesh Karthik, which will be a role reversal as he was your captain in Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2021 IPL. What do you expect from him?
I played with Dinesh for Kolkata. I really enjoyed the way he thinks about the game. He comes with a wealth of experience from playing, but also with his overall knowledge of the game. So as a captain, I’ll be leaning on him and looking to him for advice. It’s nice to have someone with that amount of experience — not only as a player but also as a captain — out there on the field. I’m really looking forward to the chance of sharing the field with Dinesh again.
How was the experience of working with the England team?
The England stint has been brilliant. I’ve been very lucky to work with such a great international side, and the quality of bowlers they have on offer has been outstanding. They’ve been great to work with — there’s so much exciting talent in English cricket. Brendon is someone I know very well and have played a lot of cricket with. I loved what he did with us as a side when he was captain, and when the opportunity came up to work with him again, it was a no-brainer to jump in and help him out.
You have been roped in as the bowling coach by Kolkata Knight Riders. Have you made any strategies for IPL?
I guess it’s about planning and managing players to get the best out of them. The tournament’s two and a half months long, so it’s about maximising their ability and keeping them at their best over that period. I’m looking forward to that. It’s another new challenge for me, and one I’m really excited about.
You have played in T20 leagues all across the globe, but you also are New Zealand's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. The art of balancing white-ball glamour and red-ball authenticity is rare among fast bowlers these days. Why?
I’m not entirely sure. I think it really comes down to the individual — whether they want to play Red Ball cricket or focus on white ball cricket. When I was growing up, international cricket was the benchmark, but now there’s so much white ball cricket and so many leagues around the world. A lot of kids probably grow up watching more T20 cricket than Test cricket. But personally, I love Test cricket; I think it’s a fantastic format. So I’d like to think there are still young players out there who dream of playing the longer format and taking on the challenges it offers.
At KKR, you will be working with Umran Malik. He rose through the ranks for his pace, but has had troubles with injuries. Are you looking forward to working with him?
Yeah, he’s been around for a few years now, and he’s definitely exciting talent. Anyone with that kind of raw pace is always exciting to watch, and he brings that energy to the game. I’m really looking forward to working with him and hopefully seeing him have a strong season this year. There’s a lot of potential, and it’ll be great to see him develop further in this IPL.