IPL 2021: "Playing alongside Virat, AB and Maxwell takes the pressure off"

Ahead of their match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, Royal Challengers Bangalore's Kyle Jamieson has said he does not feel pressurized by the challenges. The presence of stars like Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Glenn Maxwell helps his cause since the youngster is allowed to play his natural game.

"Yeah, probably it does not add any extra pressure on me, if anything it takes it away because those guys (Virat, ABD, and Maxwell) are so good. Yes, you know that they have done roles all around the world for a number of years. It is about tapping into that knowledge and trying to take their learnings and applying it. The pressure is even less because of those guys and how good they are, it probably allows me to play my role," said Jamieson during a virtual press conference on Saturday.

Kyle Jamieson was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2021 Auction after a major bidding war with the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings. RCB spent a whopping INR 15 crore on the Kiwi cricketer.

It’s only natural that given his price tag, RCB fans have a lot of expectations from Jamieson. The tall Kiwi all-rounder is a cool customer, despite being new to international cricket and this is his first IPL experience. He has already picked up two wickets this season, helping RCB to go top of the table with two consecutive wins.

Jamieson marked a splendid IPL debut against defending champions Mumbai Indians in RCB's opening match of the 2021 season. He picked up the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav and kept things tight at the back. Kyle Jamieson then dismissed Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner in the next match, just as he started to impose himself in the game.

"I'm just looking to tap into his brain" - Kyle Jamieson on AB De Villiers

AB De Villiers continues to be an important influence in the Royal Challengers Bangalore dressing room. The South African legend was in his prime in the season opener and played a match-winning knock of 48 runs against Mumbai Indians.

When asked about whether he had spoken to AB De Villiers about how to perform against innovative batsmen, Jamieson said he is definitely looking to tap into his experience.

“Probably not too much yet. I’m just looking to tap into his brain, he is such an experienced player and has such a good record all around the world.”

Kyle Jamieson also added that he feels lucky to have players like AB De Villiers as his teammates and hopefully, they can perform well as a team this season.