The Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auctions will take place on February 12 and February 13. Cricket Fans and followers will be hoping to see their favourite cricketers in the lucrative T20 tournament but there are many prominent cricketers who decided to skip the upcoming edition of the tournament. New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson is one such player who will not be playing in the IPL this time.
While talking about his decision to not feature in IPL, Jamieson elaborately discusses the reasons.
Jamieson's words
“Yeah, look, there were a couple of things for me (for opting out), Firstly, after the last 12 months, it’s had its challenges with MIQs (managed isolation and quarantine) and bubbles and spending a fair amount of time in that sort of set-up,” Jamieson was quoted while talking to ESPNCricinfo’.
“It was important for me, when I look at the schedule coming up over the next 12 months to try and find six weeks or eight weeks where I can spend some time at home," he added.
Focusing on his international career was another major aspect for the 27-year-old New Zealand pacer and keeping this in mind he decided to skip the IPL.
“The second thing for me was, reflecting over the last 12-24 months and understanding that I’m very young in my [international] career and only two years in, that I wanted to have time to work on my game.
“I didn’t really feel like I was where I wanted to be and if I want to compete for spots in the New Zealand sides moving forward across all three formats, I actually need to spend time working on my game and not just trying to play the whole time. For me, it was just about time at home and just time to work on my game.”
A tough call
Jamieson, who was the second-most expensive at last edition's IPL auctions admitted that missing IPL was a tough decision eventually it seemed like “a weight off” his shoulder.
“It was (a difficult decision) initially. I sat with it for a fair while, and it was kind of lucky I had a couple of months in bubbles to sit in my room and have a think, but once I’d made the decision, it was a bit of a weight off my shoulder in a way, in terms of just focusing on myself and trying to get better.
“I’m still pretty young, I still think I’m young at 27 and I’ve still got a few years ahead, so this is just for this year and looking at what the next 12 months will look like, and hopefully moving forward there will be more opportunities to try and dip my toes into that environment,” he explained.
