There are much worse places to be in than losing World Cup, opines Jimmy Neesham
Jimmy Neesham was part of New Zealand squad that lost the World Cup 2019 final against England.
|Jimmy Neesham has stated that he has still not recovered completely from the World Cup final loss against England but there are much worse things that can happen with people. He added that he feels fortunate to be getting a second chance in the IPL after initially contemplating retirement.
Jimmy Neesham is one of the more interesting characters in international cricket. He speaks his mind on social media and his witty tweets have made him a sensation. He was picked by KKR for the 2014 edition of IPL after getting dropped by Delhi Daredevils but was unable to play any games for them owing to injury, leading to him getting dropped by KKR as well.
Neesham, who is making his comeback after 6 years with KXIP, stated that he has still not recovered from Wolrd Cup final loss against England, but finds solace in the fact that much worse things can happen to people than losing a match.
“Extremely difficult. It's a funny thing that I have played maybe only a dozen games after the World Cup. It's a gradual on-going process. The public still wants to hear about it. Taking the field as a runner-up doesn't feel good. When a game comes down to small margins, you know it has nothing to do with skill. But then some people get hit by cars. People die in plane crashes. You know that's unlucky. There are a lot of worse things happening to people than just losing a game of cricket. So you got to look at the positives. It could have ended in a different way but there are much worse places to be in,” Neesham said as quoted by TOI.
Neesham was contemplating retiring from all forms of cricket as he was not getting selected by the National team due to poor form. He had fallen out of love from cricket but, somehow, was talked against doing such a thing. Talking about the same, Neesham revealed that he didn’t have the knowledge to play at a big stage like IPL which contributed to his poor form. However, he feels fortunate to be getting a second chance. He added that he has matured as a cricketer and now, is fine with inevitable failures.
“Yes. Definitely. In 2012, I wasn't getting picked for my domestic team. In 2014, I was playing in the IPL. It was a meteoric rise. I didn't have the knowledge to cope with that kind of thing. The successful teams have been the older teams like CSK and Mumbai Indians. I feel fortunate that I got a second go at it,” the Kiwi all-rounder said.
“As you go up levels, there's more money and consequences involved. You want more success and you fear failure more. That's natural when you dream of playing international cricket or IPL since your teens. In cricket, there are bound to be failures. You have to get to a spot where you can accept your failures. Learning to survive without cricket is crucial. Understanding that your cricket's great but if I never play again then I'll be fine.”
