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[caption id="attachment_44710" align="aligncenter" width="580"] New Zealand players at a promotional event in Kolkata on Saturday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption] Kolkata: New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has backed Indian captain Virat Kohli to come good in the forthcoming Champions Trophy tournament next month in England. The Royal Challangers Bangalore captain has been woefully below the high standards set by him. Kohli has scored just 250 runs in 9 matches. In fact most of the Indian top order batsman has looked woefully out of form in the cash rich league. According to New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee, “I don't think so. They (Indian batsmen) are all class players. There's a reason why they are such good players and they don't stay out of form for too long. I'm sure he's working extremely hard with such a big tournament round the corner. I'm sure he will adjust to the conditions. There's a reason why he is the best batsman in the world. He will step up as the Indian captain as well.” The Black Caps team on Saturday officially announced Amul as the prinicipal sponsore for the forthcoming Champions Trophy.  Speaking about the favourites of the tournament, fast bowler Trent Boult said, “It's very hard to determine a favourite in the whole tournament where eight quality sides are involved. It's a matter of who's playing the better cricket. It will be a challenge to move from the Twenty20 to longer format, the guys here are exposed to some good cricket so the transition will be relatively easy.” Mumbai Indians fast bowler reckons both the groups are pretty well balanced. “I don't think any group is easy, that's the beauty of Champions Trophy which is played among top eight teams in the world. There's no easy game that makes Champions Trophy such a great tournament to be a part of. Any side can beat the other on a given day. It's an exciting tournament.” The tournament to be played during June is likely to favour the faster bowlers. On being asked whether the fast bowlers will have an upper hand, Southee said, “I don't think so. If you look at the history of ODIs in last couple of years, it's been some very high-scoring games in England. The wickets have improved especially in shorter formats. There's a plenty of high scores. It should be exciting; hopefully there will be plenty of wickets and some great amount of runs as well. There's pretty good batting wickets in England as well.” Southee also feels that the teams from the sub-continent should not be counted out. According to the Kiwi fast bowler, “At this time the wickets in England will turn. It will be relatively good for swing and seam bowling as well. There are eight quality sides have experienced in all conditions have the quality in them to produce quality cricket irrespective of the conditions.” Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Colin de Grandhomme do not have any complains whatsoever on being asked too much cricket is taking a toll on the international players. According to Grandhomme, “You are not going to be playing rest of your life. So it's about playing as much as you can.” It was also confirmed that Cricket New Zealand will continue to send its players to take part in the IPL.