James Neesham Picks IPL Over CPL As His Favorite T20 League

James Neesham, swashbuckling New Zealand all-round, picked the IPL [Indian Premier League] over the Caribbean Premier League during ESPNCricindfo’s ’25 (fun) questions’ session.

Neesham made his Indian Premier League way back in the 2014 season. The seam-bowling all-rounder represented the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils [presently Delhi Capitals] during the seventh edition.

But James Neesham failed to make any sort of impact and was soon dropped from the set-up. Neesham’s declining stocks in the IPL mirrored his state in the national side as Corey Anderson staked his claim to the elusive spot.

Tables, however, turned in James Neesham’s favor in 2019 where the all-rounder had a breakout year for New Zealand. And, as a result, an Indian Premier League contract soon followed.

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James Neesham would have made his comeback in the IPL this season

James Neesham was brought at his base price of Rs 50 Lakh by the Priety Zinta-led Kings XI Punjab in the 2020 IPL auctions, held at the ‘City of Joy’ Kolkata last December.

Neesham would have featured for the Kings XI Punjab in the 13th edition of the IPL but for the proliferation of the novel pandemic that is the coronavirus [COVID-19], which forced the tournament to be postponed for an indefinite period of time.

As far as the Caribbean Premier League is concerned, James Neesham featured for the Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders last year.

The Auckland-born all-rounder also reckoned that former New Zealand swashbuckling batsman and the current Kolkata Knight Riders coach Brendon McCullum was more intimidating as a captain than coach. Neesham played under both McCullum – the captain [New Zealand] and coach [Trinbago Knight Riders].

Neesham also revealed that he idolizes former superstar all-rounder England’s Andrew Flintoff for his sheer swagger and flamboyance.

Recently, James Neesham had revealed that beating India in the 2019 World Cup semi-final as the most memorable moment of his career. Neesham played his role in that historic win for the Kiwis. The all-rounder claimed a blinder of a catch at point to dismiss Dinesh Karthik.

India eventually recovered thanks to a whirlwind knock by Ravindra Jadeja and a calm-and-collected half-century by MS Dhoni but they were once again undone by yet another fielding brilliance from New Zealand to eventually go down by 19 runs.

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