Gary Stead lauds Kyle Jamieson for opting out of IPL 2022

New Zealand coach Gary Stead has appreciated Kiwi all-rounder Kyle Jamieson’s decision to opt of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League as he is confident of the seamer emerging as the stand-out performer in the upcoming Test series against England.

The Blackcaps are scheduled to play a three-match Test series in England starting at Lord’s on June 02. Jamieson is currently grinding hard in New Zealand to prepare for the upcoming assignment, while that isn’t the case with his fellow teammates as they are present in India, playing IPL. 

Jamieson, who was the second most expensive player in the IPL 2021 auction, didn’t put his name on the IPL 2022’s mega auction list to primarily focus on his game at home. 

The Kiwi captain Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Tim Southee and Daryl Mitchell are some prominent names who are currently featuring in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league for their respective franchises. 

“I think it’s a very brave move for someone at Kyle’s age (27) to make, but he’s had some experiences there and worked out what he needs as a cricketer. He wants to play all formats for New Zealand if he can, but test cricket being the pinnacle for him, is important for him. I congratulate him for looking after what he thinks he needs to do to play test cricket, first and foremost,” Stead was quoted by Stuff.co.nz.

The inaugural champions of the World Test Championship (WTC) will be aiming to turn things around quickly to get their campaign back on track as they are currently placed at the sixth spot with just two wins from six matches in the WTC points table. 

The Blackcaps will heavily rely on the 6ft-8 star bowling all-rounder, who impressed the entire cricket fraternity on his debut two years back, and since then, he has been a significant part of the team, stepping out for them on all crucialoccasions. 

“I think he’ll be the first to say he just didn’t feel quite right last year and maybe through a workload issue as well. I guess we’re not going to know until we’ve seen him. He’s had a bit of a break. He’s looking fit and strong at the moment, so I’m excited to see what he’ll bring,” Stead added.