New Zealand vs Sri Lanka: James Neesham ruled out of one-off T20I

Back in June 2017, New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham donned the national colours in the Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Thereafter, he somehow went out of the selectors’ radar and had to wait almost one and a half years to next represent his national team in the recently concluded ODI series against Lasith Malinga’s Sri Lanka.

However, this time around, the Auckland-born made sure that he doesn’t let the opportunities go begging. Rather he turned up with an all-round performance and made a strong case for himself even in the 50-overs World Cup, which is scheduled to be played from May 30 in England and Wales.

In the meantime, it has been learned that the 28-year-old has been ruled out of the one-off T20I against the Lankans due to a hamstring injury. “He’s iced and compressed the injury and will be reassessed in a couple of days,” New Zealand’s physio Vijay Vallabh was quoted as saying in Cricbuzz.

An incredible comeback for Neesham

The one-off match is scheduled to be played on Friday, January 11 at the Eden Park in Auckland.  Neesham made his comeback with a 13-ball 47 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. He was also decent enough with the ball in hand, having picked up three crucial wickets. In the second contest at the same venue, he scored a half-century apart from picking up a couple of wickets.

James didn’t flatter to deceive at the Saxton Oval in Nelson as well. He scored 123 runs at a strike-rate of 219.64, which is incredible, even in the generation of slam-bang cricket. After playing the Islanders, New Zealand are scheduled to play India in an ODI and T20I series, which starts on Wednesday, January 23 and the management would be hoping for the cricketer to get fit at the earliest.

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