'I haven’t looked too far ahead, to be honest' - Tim Southee opens up on prospect of extending his run for Black Caps

New Zealand pace spearhead Tim Southee has hinted that he could consider the idea of stepping away from the central contract in the near future. The debate has garnered plenty of attention after Martin Guptill, who was kept on the sidelines for quite some time, was ultimately released by the Black Caps on November 23.

Not just Guptill, but Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme too were released from New Zealand's central contracts recently. It has opened doors for these players to seek opportunities to play in overseas domestic T20 leagues. Southee seems uncertain about his future as a cricketer and has not made it clear whether he wants to continue playing for New Zeland or draw the curtain on his international career.

“I haven’t looked too far ahead, to be honest. There’s enough cricket to come in the coming months to worry about before having to look too far ahead, but it’s something all players are trying to stay with and think about in the moving landscape of the game,” Southee said.

“You’re contracted to New Zealand Cricket at the moment and I’ve been back to the IPL (Indian Premier League) this year and we’ll see what happens over the coming years, but it’s definitely changing the landscape of cricket to what it was two-three years ago,” he added.

I love playing all three formats: Tim Southee

Southee, who continues to play all three formats for the national side, opined that he would be eager to continue till his ‘body feels good’.

“The body feels pretty good at the moment, so as long as you can still handle juggling all three and still being able to perform at the level you need to at this level. I love playing all three formats, so hopefully can do that for a wee while longer,” said the 33-year-old.

Southee is featuring in the ongoing series against India and has proven to be a vital asset for the squad with the ball. In the second ODI match that yielded no result, the veteran pacer was economical in his three overs and gave away only 12 runs.