James Neesham

James Neesham first came into limelight as a promising all-rounder in the U-19 World Cup of 2010. Within two years of making his first-class debut, Neesham was called into New Zealand's T20I squad for the series against South Africa in 2012-2013. He eventually made his T20I debut at Durban, followed by his ODI debut at Paarl.

Earlier, Neesham began playing for Auckland in domestic cricket but then shifted to Otago and shone in the 50-over format for them in the 2011-2012 season. He made three 40-plus scores at a good strike rate and had a decent run with the ball too, picking up his career-best figures of 5-44 against Wellington.

Neesham performed fantastically in the 2013 Champions League for the Otago Volts, aiding them in many victories in the early stages of the tournament. His dedication to improve consistently with the bat earned him his Test cap against India in the second Test at Wellington in February 2014. The all-rounder also notched up his maiden century in the game scoring a fantastic 137, the highest score on debut by a number 8 batsman in Tests.

The Kiwi all-rounder was snapped up by Delhi in the 2014 Indian T20 League auctions and was later bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the following season.

Neesham was omitted from New Zealand's 15-man 2015 World Cup squad, an act that drew criticism from experts. But, the enthusiastic Neesham accepted the fact cheerfully and continued to amuse everyone with his witty presence on Twitter. When New Zealand traveled to India in late 2016, he did not have the greatest of outings but has managed to hold on to his spot in the limited overs squad since then.

Though he enjoyed a decent World Cup at the 2019 mega event, Neesham's inconsistency with the bat kept him in and out of the national side. A superb fielder who can offer control during middle overs with the ball, Neesham is widely known for his nonchalant boundary clearing ability. With a strike-rate of almost 100 in ODIs, Neesham is yet to hit a century in white-ball cricket for his national side.

By Cricbuzz Staff