Paperwork delay costs Jimmy Neesham his spot in World XI team

New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham was well on course to tour Pakistan for the upcoming three match T20 series for the World XI side. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced the 14-man side for the World XI team. The name of Neesham was missing from the list of 14 players. Incidentally, Neesham was on the radar to picked as the all-rounder in the World XI lineup.

However, it was some paperwork delay back in his homeland that cost him the lucrative deal. Reportedly, the ICC and the PCB had offered huge sums of money to the players who agreed to be a part of the series that is expected to pave way for international cricket back in the Pakistani soil. As per the recent reports in Stuff.co.nz, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had no objections with Jimmy Neesham being a part of the fixture.

“In terms of our advice, we’ve just passed on the information from Fica [Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations] around the series and the fact that Reg Dickason is providing the security for the team. He is comfortable with the security plan at the moment. We’re not making any recommendations to the players as to whether they should go or not,” CPA chief executive Heath Mills said.

Expecting Jimmy Neesham to be in the side

He further added that he was expecting to see Neesham’s name in the list. He was surprised not see the name when the squad was announced. Fellow former Kiwi teammate of Neesham, Grant Elliott made it to the 14-man squad. The team will be led by South African skipper Faf du Plessis.

“I was expecting to see Jimmy in the side and I just think it’s taken a little while to get his NOC there, which has meant he’s missed the cut-off for selection in the team which is disappointing for him,” Mills noted.

Meanwhile, NZC General Manager of Public Affairs, Richard Broock, also mentioned that the board had already cleared the grant last week itself when Neesham had shown interest in being a part of the eleven. Whatever may be the case, the fact remains that Neesham missed out on being a part of the series.

“When that [series schedule] was cleared up ​during the past week, we put it in front of our board yesterday [Thursday], at which point approval was granted,” Broock conceded.