IPL 2021 | Never had thoughts of pulling out individually before the tournament ended, admits Jimmy Neesham
Neesham made his season debut against CSK
|IPLT20
Jimmy Neesham, who is part of Mumbai Indian’s setup, has admitted that he never had thoughts of pulling out of the tournament individually before the postponement. Alongside that, he also insisted that he won’t hesitate to sign up again, especially with the vaccines rolling out for COVID-19.
Coming into the tournament, Jimmy Neesham had shown his T20 prowess, with a 45* and 26 against Australia. Not just that, alongside his unbeaten 45, he also picked up two crucial wickets, bowling the final over in a game in New Zealand’s win over Australia. However, that did not make him a sure-shot starter for Mumbai Indians.
The all-rounder made his season debut for Mumbai in their final clash before the postponement, against CSK. In that particular clash, the Kiwi all-rounder could not showcase his skills, with a duck with the bat and 0/26 with the ball. While several foreign players pulled out during the tournament, Jimmy Neesham admitted that he never had thoughts of pulling out individually before the tournament ended.
“For me, I signed up for the IPL knowing what it might be like. I felt like it was an obligation - I made the commitment to go and never had any thoughts of pulling out individually before the tournament finished,” Neesham told Newshub.
He also insisted that as a ‘professional’ it is part of his job to finish the season and get the job done on the field.
“Guys will have different opinions on that, but it's my job, I'm a professional and you have plenty of times you tour countries you're not that keen on going to, but it's about getting on the field and getting the job done,” he added.
While the fate of the IPL remains unclear, the Kiwi all-rounder insisted that he would sign-up again for the tournament, especially with vaccinations being rolled out.
“I would sign up again, especially once vaccinations start rolling out. I don't think anyone really predicted how quickly it would all come crashing down over there and how quickly we would be on the first plane out,” said Neesham.
“Even though we were flying on chartered planes, we have to go through customs, hand your details over to people, walk through terminals, so there were always going to be pinchpoints there. We obviously don't know yet exactly how teams were infiltrated, but... it's such a difficult prospect to keep everything perfect and when you've got so many guys that are close to each other, there are going to be social interactions after games.”
