New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham has been famous for his witty social media interactions. But now it seems that the Kiwi all-rounder has taken a dig at his IPL franchise after a Twitter user asked him why he doesn’t perform in IPL just like the way he plays for BlackCaps.
Replying to this question, Neesham pointed out the fact that he wouldn’t have performed well in international cricket either if he was playing just one match per year, which seems like a clear shot at the Rajasthan Royals.
Neesham cost the Rajasthan Royals INR 1.50 Cr but got a chance to play just a couple of games, where he scored 31 runs. This has been a theme throughout Neesham’s IPL career as the Kiwi all-rounder has just played 12 games since his debut in 2014. He played 3 games in 2021, 5 games in 2020 and 4 games in 2014, where he put up 61 runs at an average of nine.
Neesham’s tweet said, “I probably wouldn’t perform well in international cricket either if I played one game a year 😂”. The Kiwi all-rounder further addressed his comment and pointed out the importance of continuity in elite sports.
He said, “Also… everyone trying to act like this tweet is bodying someone or trolling someone 🙄. Literally, everybody in elite sport knows continuity of role is important. It’s just sometimes the situation doesn’t allow it and players just have to try to make do. It's nobody’s fault 🤷♂️.”
Talking about Neesham’s international cricket, the all-rounder featured in the third ODI against Australia in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, where the Aussies registered a 25-run win. This defeat concluded a 3-0 series defeat for the Kiwis, which wasn’t liked by their coach Gary Stead.
"I can assure you it was a pretty frustrated dressing room last night," Stead said at a Zoom press conference on Monday. "The guys are disappointed and frustrated after having opportunities in all three matches and not getting over the line. I think it's easy when you lose that you can go soul searching a little bit, but we try not to do that."