IPL 2021: Never had thoughts of pulling out, would sign up again – James Neesham

New Zealand and Mumbai Indians all-rounder James Neesham has stated that he never had thoughts of pulling out of IPL 2021 and he would sign up again for the league if the tournament is rescheduled. There were reports that overseas players wanted to back out after Andrew Tye, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa pulled out but Neesham admitted that it never crossed his mind.

Neesham, who is known for his sarcastic Tweets, added as a professional he had to finish what he had signed up for and thus he was focussed on playing for Mumbai Indians. However, there is no doubt that panic had hit the IPL bio bubble after a surge in Covid-19 cases. 

“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. 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. Neesham told Newshub. 

“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,” added Neesham.

On the other hand, Neesham played a solitary match for five-match champions Mumbai Indians in which he conceded 26 runs in the two overs he bowled. He didn’t have a great outing with the bat as he was dismissed for a golden duck.

Meanwhile, Neesham feels it is difficult to say how the virus broke into the bubble but the players could have been affected as they were travelling from one city to the other.

“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 pinch points 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,” concluded Jimmy Neesham.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand all-rounder has landed in Auckland and he will undergo hard quarantine.