Southee will lead NZ against England | Getty Images

Ahead of the opening match of the five-match T20I series against England, veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor heaped praise on stand-in captain Tim Southee, as he feels the seamer hugely benefited with the leadership duty, saying the T20 captaincy has added a new dimension to his game.

Southee was named the captain to lead the Black Caps in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Eoin Morgan and his team as the regular skipper Kane Williamson is recovering from a hip injury.

Former NZ skipper feels the T20 captaincy isn’t an easy task especially for a bowler, but the 30-year-old, who had previously led New Zealand to a 2-1 series victory in Sri Lanka earlier this year, has risen greatly with the challenge of captaincy.

Read Also: Tim Southee laughs off notion of England sides having the wood over New Zealand

Taylor told reporters on the eve of the first T20I against England, “When he's not captain, he's a bit of a larrikin. He's a bit more serious when he's captain, I think it's added a new dimension to his game. He's been around for a long period of time, and has the respect of the team.”

He signed off by saying, “It's not easy being a Twenty20 captain when you're a bowler, but I think his record, he's had a pretty successful time of it as a Twenty20 captain. Take away the four wickets that Malinga got [in Sri Lanka], and he might had a 100 percent record.”

Noteworthy, New Zealand and England will also take on each other in two Tests, with the T20I series kickstarting in Christchurch on Friday, November 1.

(With News Now Inputs)