IPL 2021 Auction: How Kyle Jamieson's U-Turn From Sleep Led To A 'Surreal Experience'

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson made a U-turn on his plans to sleep through the IPL auction night and decided to witness what eventually turned out to be a life-changing moment live as a furious bidding war ensued among franchises the moment his name went up.

The IPL auction started at 10:30 PM (New Zealand time). He woke up around midnight and at 01:30 AM when his name finally came up, he watched live to make sense of the enormity of the situation as the bidding ensued.

When the dust eventually settled, the 6 foot 8-inch tall fast bowler had become the most expensive New Zealand cricketer to feature in the IPL with Virat Kohli’s RCB claiming his services for a staggering sum of Rs 15 Crore.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

“I woke up around midnight and decided to check the phone – just trying to embrace the whole experience. I don’t know if this will ever happen again. Rather than trying to avoid the situation, [I thought] I’ll sit back and enjoy it. It was certainly a weird hour and a half waiting for my name to be called up.” Kyle Jamieson said in a video posted by New Zealand Cricket’s official Twitter handle.

Last night's @<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L auction through the eyes of BLACKCAP and now @<!---->R<!---->C<!---->B<!---->T<!---->w<!---->e<!---->e<!---->t<!---->s player Kyle Jamieson ✍? #<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L<!---->A<!---->u<!---->c<!---->t<!---->i<!---->o<!---->n p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->S<!---->e<!---->p<!---->2<!---->b<!---->B<!---->B<!---->2<!---->L<!---->O

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) F<!---->e<!---->b<!---->r<!---->u<!---->a<!---->r<!---->y<!----> <!---->1<!---->9<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->1

Jamieson revealed that he got a message from his compatriot and Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond amid the auction as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“I had a message from Shane Bond as it was going and he was saying, ‘How good is this’. I didn’t actually know what the amount of money how that translated to New Zealand dollars. It was quite cool to share that moment with him and ride that two or three minutes with him,” Kyle Jamieson revealed.

“I actually called my partner and actually woke her up. She was asleep. I then called mum and dad, they were up as well. I did that, then turned the phone off and tried to get some sleep.” he added.

A prize tag as big as Jamieson’s brings with it a truckload of expectations and pressure to perform, but the New Zealand pacer, who has broken into the national side across all three formats in the past 18 months, had downplayed the same.

His immediate worry is the banter he is likely to face from his teammates when the players assemble for the upcoming T20I series against Australia.

“Probably a few coffees I would have thought,” he said when asked about his next purchase. “I don’t know. It’s only been a few hours. My bank account hasn’t changed overnight, but there’ll be a bit of stick given and a few coffees and a few beers I’m sure,” Kyle Jamieson said.

“To be fair, I don’t think a whole lot changes to me. I accept that there will be expectations but that’s been the case the whole time I’ve played. I think it’s such a special tournament, obviously the biggest franchise tournament around. There are so many cool experiences to be had over there and learning opportunities. That’s the thing that excites me the most is being able to rub shoulders with these guys. It’s such a unique situation for us as cricketers and to be able to do that is something pretty special.” Kyle Jamieson signed off.

Also Read: IPL 2021 Auction: “Pretty Outrageous,” Riley Meredith On Getting Rs 8 Crores From Punjab Kings