James Neesham, the New Zealand all-rounder, has picked the Indian Premier League (IPL) as his favourite over the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) when asked to choose between the two. He made his IPL debut way back in 2014, representing the Delhi Daredevils, now Capitals. But after the 29-year-old managed only 42 runs and picked up a solitary wicket, he was left out.

In 2019, he made his comeback for the Black Caps and impressed one and all in the World Cup in England and Wales. Later that year, the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) picked him up at his base price of INR 50 lakhs. At the present point in time, he should have been with the IPL franchise. However, that’s not the case as the T20 tournament had to be postponed indefinite due to the coronavirus pandemic.

James Neesham opens up

As far as the CPL is concerned, he played for the Trinbago Knight Riders, led by Kieron Pollard, last year. He didn’t have a great time as during one of the games against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, he couldn’t defend close to 20 runs in the last over. Interestingly, it was also on his birthday when opposition captain Carlos Brathwaite laid into him. He got wickets with the ball though.

The Auckland-born picked between CPL and IPL during ESPNCricinfo’s ‘25 (fun) questions with Jimmy Neesham’. He also said that Brendon McCullum was more intimidating as the skipper than as the coach. Playing for the TKR in the Caribbean, Baz was Neesham’s coach.

Neesham, being an all-round cricketer, idolises Andrew Flintoff, a former Englishman known for his fearless attitude. He was also asked to name Kane Williamson’s breed if the Kiwis’ skipper was a dog. Neesham took time and named ‘Sheepdog’ as he feels that both are very loyal and couldn’t run fast.

He last played in the Sydney ODI against Australia back in March after which cricket came to a halt due to the COVID-19. Despite staying off the park, Neesham has managed to stay connected to the fans through his Twitter handle. In his career, he has played 12 Tests, 63 ODIs and 18 T20Is.