New Delhi: James Neesham, the New Zealand seam-bowling all-rounder, has played just one game for the Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 so far, but the lack of game time doesn’t worry him much.

The Dubai Capitals have won just one of the three matches in the ongoing tournament, losing the opener against the Desert Vipers by 4 wickets and then the second fixture against the Gulf Giants by the same margin. The Dasun Shanaka-led side defeated Abu Dhabi Knight Riders by 83 runs to register their first win of the tournament.

“I mean, one (win) from three (games), is a fine start. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of quality players in our team, so it was tough to fit everyone into an XI. But it’s not really too much of a concern. Just want to stay ready to go and then, yeah, when called upon, hopefully be able to perform for the team,” Neesham said in an exclusive interview with News9 Sports.

The all-rounder also talked about ILT20’s reach in India and said it will never get as big as the IPL, but a different window when more players are available will help raise the overall quality of the league.

“Well, it will never be as big as the IPL, for obvious reasons. But I think ILT20 is doing a good job of retaining high-quality cricketers and offering a strong product. That’s all you can really do to gain eyeballs—put high-quality cricket on display, and viewers will naturally want to watch.

With the way the global schedule is right now, different leagues overlap a lot. If ILT20 can find a window where more players are available, that will help raise the overall quality as well,” Neesham added.

‘When you’re consistently put in the group of death, eventually you’ll slip up’

Neesham declined a national contract with New Zealand Cricket [NZC] in September 2022 and has been a constant presence in the global T20 tournaments. He has played for 10 teams in seven competitions as well as 45 T20Is for the Blackcaps since then.

The all-rounder spoke about New Zealand’s exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup and said that they consistently find themselves in the group of death in every global tournament. Neesham lamented the fact that the Kiwis have got another tough pool (South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE) in the upcoming T20 World Cup, but the team will prepare as best as possible.

(Photo credit – X/@ICC)

“Look, when you’re consistently put in the ‘group of death’ at every world tournament, eventually you’re going to have a slip-up. It would be nice if we could pick the pools like some other teams seem to, and give ourselves an easier path, but that’s not how it works for us,”.

“We’ve got another tough pool coming up in February, again with Afghanistan in Chennai. That’ll be a challenging matchup. Hopefully, we can prepare as best as possible. We have a tour of India in January, which is a great chance to get used to the conditions, hit the ground running, and hopefully come out on top in that so-called “group of death,”.

New Zealand need a fully-fit squad to challenge India

The Blackcaps will take on India in the five-match T20I series to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup, and the all-rounder believes that a fully-fit squad will be crucial to challenge the Men in Blue at home.

“Those are obviously conversations we’ll have internally (on testing specific combinations and during the T20I series). But what I can share is that the makeup of our batting order will be important. We’ve got a lot of talent and aggression at the top—guys like Tim Seifert and Finn Allen haven’t played recently due to injuries, so it’s important to get them game time together again,” Neesham told exclusively to News9 Sports.

“Also, the composition of the bowling attack is crucial. We’ve had a few injuries in the New Zealand setup lately, so arriving in India with a fully available bowling group will be really important. I’m sure the guys behind the scenes are working hard to make that happen,” he added.

(Photo credit – X/@BLACKCAPS)

Neesham believes the series against a strong opponent like India in the run-up to the T20 World Cup will hold them in good stead.

“They (India) are a very strong team. They’ve had some mixed results lately, which has drawn a lot of media attention, but the level of talent they have is unquestioned. It’s a great challenge for us before the World Cup. Hopefully, we can produce some close contests, some entertaining cricket for the fans, and arrive at the World Cup battle-hardened,”.

‘It’s been a challenging road for me in the IPL’

The all-rounder also opened up on his unfulfilledIPL career. Despite in and around the IPL for more than a decade and representing the likes of Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals, he played only 14 matches, scoring 92 runs and picking up eight wickets.

“Satisfied? No, I probably wouldn’t say satisfied. It’s been a challenging road for me in the IPL. I haven’t really had consistent game time. Yes, I’ve played for four or five franchises, but I think I’ve only played 12 or 13 games across 10-15 years. It’s hard to perform from ball one when you’re playing so irregularly. The guys who have great IPL careers usually get consistent selection and consistent roles, which hasn’t been the case for me-and that’s okay,”.

Neesham said that Finn Allen might have a big payday in the upcoming IPL 2026 mini-auction among New Zealand players, but they won’t get massive amounts like the Australian and English players.

Regarding the auction, I think Finn Allen might fetch a reasonable price. I don’t think any of the Kiwi boys will go for the outrageous amounts the Australians and English players often get, for whatever reason. But hopefully six or seven of our guys get picked up and contribute well for their franchises. Maybe Rachin Ravindra as well-those two are likely to be the top Kiwi buys. Overall, Cameron Green might go big,”.

A total of 350 players will go under the hammer at the IPL 2026 mini-auction set to be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.