New Zealand pacer Tim Southee believes it was smart of Virat Kohli to ask Kyle Jamieson to bowl with the duke balls during the IPL 2021. He also sounded pleased with Jamieson’s decision to deny Kohli’s request keeping the forthcoming World Test Championship Final in mind.

The incident between Kohli and Jamieson came to light when Australian all-rounder Daniel Christian revealed it during a podcast.

Speaking to The Grade Cricketer’s YouTube channel, Christian said “Pretty cagey from Virat actually, right in the first week we were here. The three of us were sitting down after the nets and these two were talking about Test cricket.

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“Virat said: ‘So Jamie (Kyle Jamieson) have you bowled much with the Dukes ball?’ and they are talking about that stuff.”

Elaborating the incident, he further added “Jamie says: ‘Yeah, I have a couple of them here, I will have a bowl leading in before I go over there’ and Virat says ‘Oh, if you want to have a bowl against me in the nets, I am more than happy to face’.

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“Jamie was like, ‘No chance I am going to ball at you!’ He would have looked at his release point and everything that he does with the Dukes ball! (chuckles).”

Seasoned pacer Tim Southee felt Jamieson’s response was a ‘no-brainer’.

“I’m pretty sure that story is true. But that would be the answer to most batsmen why would you give them a look? It was smart from Virat to see if he’d fall into the trap but for Kyle, it was a no-brainer to not give the guy a glimpse of what he’ll be facing [in the final],” Southee told The Guardian ahead of the series opener against England.

New Zealand will play against England in a two-match Test series, starting from Wednesday at Lord’s. Afterward, they will face India in the most-awaited WTC final in Southampton, scheduled to begin on June 18.