'I don't think it is a bad thing' - Mike Hesson on Kyle Jamieson struggling in T20I series against Australia

During the IPL Auction for the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played a big gamble as they acquired the services of New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson for a staggering amount of INR 15 crore. He had made his T20I debut last year only against West Indies.

Ever since the auctions, the 26-year-old has been subjected to constant trolls on social media for his below-par performance in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia. Jamieson isn’t having the best of times with the ball as the tall Kiwi quick could manage just one wicket in the four T20I matches played so far, and has conceded 175 runs at an economy rate of over 11.

In addition, the Australian skipper Aaron Finch had launched an assault on the pacer in the just-concluded fourth T20 International of the marquee series as he smashed four sixes in the last over of the innings bowled by Kyle Jamieson and collected as many as 26 runs.

While many RCB fans are worried after seeing the horrendous performance of Kyle Jamieson for New Zealand, Mike Hesson, the Director of Cricket Operations at the Bangalore outfit believes that being out of form is not a bad thing. Hesson reckoned that this is probably the first time that the seamer has failed at the international level and this can be due to the excessive pressure of delivering results.

We know Kyle Jamieson is  a very good player, says Mike Hesson

Speaking to Ian Smith on Sky Sports NZ, he pointed out, “He’s (Kyle Jamieson) struggled, probably for the first time in international cricket really, which I don’t think is a bad thing. He’s battled to find his lengths, which when you’re put under pressure, that can happen. And pressure not only from the opposition but also the weight of expectations. For Kyle, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

Further in the interaction, Mike stressed that Kyle Jamieson is a smart cricketer and will come out of the harsh experience as a better performer. The former NZ coach also reckoned that when selecting a player, one doesn’t just look at his performance during a very short period of time.

“When you look at a player, you don’t look at a player just over a very short period of time. You look at the characteristics that he’s got. He’s got some good fighting qualities. He struggled, he didn’t find his lengths, he looked like he lost his run-up. We know he’s a very good player and although we would like him to be performing better, we’re not too worried just yet,” he concluded.