IPL 2021 | Experience garnered in IPL will be invaluable heading into the World Cup, reckons Kyle Jamieson

18 months ago Kyle Jamieson had not made his international debut, but, as things stand, the 26-year-old is one of the budding superstars in world cricket. After impressing in both Test and ODI cricket for New Zealand, the towering pacer was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping 15 crore, and thus far the right-armer has done a commendable job. In 6 matches, Jameison has claimed 7 wickets at an ER of 9.00 and has formed a lethal new-ball partnership with Mohammed Siraj to torment batting line-ups up-front. 

The ongoing IPL edition is Jamieson’s first ever visit to India, and the speedster feels that it will serve him handy come the WT20. Speaking in the press conference post the Delhi game, Jamieson insisted that the experience he garners in the IPL will be invaluable, but stressed that he still has to earn his place in New Zealand’s WT20 squad.

“Absolutely. Any experience you have, in this part of the world, before the World Cup is valuable. First and foremost I’m still not getting carried away with that - still have to earn the right to be in the New Zealand squad first,” Jamieson said on Tuesday.

“I’m trying to soak up all that I can from all the experienced guys and trying to learn on the go. The first five or six games we’ve played, there has been fresh learnings each time. I guess being exposed to pressure situations always helps you in the long run.”

Jamieson has already learnt a few harsh lessons in this IPL, and he was at the receiving end of another one in the Delhi clash. After having conceded just 11 runs off his first 3 overs, the 26-year-old was taken apart for 21 runs off his final over by Shimron Hetmyer, who latched on to him towards the back-end. The expensive over almost cost RCB, but commendable efforts from Harshal Patel and Siraj ensured that the Reds got over the line. Jamieson expressed that T20 is a format where one simply cannot take anything for granted.

“In T20 cricket you can’t take anything for granted. The run rate was never at a point which was out of reach, especially with the calibre of those two guys (Pant and Hetmyer). We’ve seen so many times where games that we think are dead and buried turn out to be close and so due to the calibre of the two batsmen, it was always down to us to execute. There were few boundaries here and there - which is pretty normal in T20 cricket - but happy with coming away with a win.”

After being purchased for a whopping 15 crore, the limelight was on Jamieson throughout the Australia T20Is, and it was a series in which the 26-year-old struggled immeasurably. Jamieson, in that series, looked like a shadow of himself and was carted around the park by the Aussies, who took a liking to him. The right-armer admitted that, initially, he didn’t handle the pressure of the price tag well.

“Yeah, that is certainly there [pressure of the price tag]. I probably didn’t see it at first, kind of ignored it a little bit in my mind and thought it would be fine, and I tried to focus on things I could control. But certainly, in the first couple of weeks going through the Australia series we were playing, I didn’t handle the magnitude of the situation as best I could,” Jamieson said.

Many who watched Jamieson struggle in the Australia T20Is predicted him to fail in the IPL, but the Kiwi speedster has instead surprised one and all with his performances. Jamieson revealed that the one-week-quarantine prior to IPL helped him settle and added that the support staff in RCB gave him the assurance he needed.

“There is no manual for how to deal with something of that magnitude and it has been a process. I think the quarantine week that we had once I got here was really good to just kind of settle things and reflect on the last month and process and plan how I want to move forward. In terms of being here, there is no real expectation. 

“The first chat I had with Katich, Hesson and Virat was just 'You are here do your role’, it was very clear. It [the price tag] certainly isn’t on my mind anymore. Yeah the first month, probably six weeks after the auction were tough and I guess I have learnings from that which will hold me in good stead.”