Block of T20 games ahead of World Cup a good chance to practice some skillsets: Jamieson

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson says it is good for him and his teammates to have a series of T20 cricket going into the T20 World Cup in the UAE as it would give them an opportunity to fine-tune their skillsets. 

New Zealand will take on Pakistan in their opening match in the T20 World Cup on October 26 in Sharjah.  "It certainly gives us, (and) me a little bit of a head-start in terms of getting used to those conditions and those grounds," Jamieson was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

"It's nice to have a block of T20 cricket going into the World Cup and, like I said, just a good chance to practice some T20 skillsets in the venues we're going to be playing on," he added.

The tall fast bowler had a first taste of the Indian Premier League (IPL when he turned up for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first half of the tournament in India. he had to adapt quickly on a slow and sluggish Chennai pitch where he had to bowl plenty of cutters to take the pace off. 

Speaking of his learnings from that, Jamieson said, "I think it was good to have the first block of T20 cricket and, I guess, you are constantly reviewing that and try and see what the plans are at certain stages of the game, certain conditions, different grounds, different batters." 

"I guess there's no specifics around that sort of stuff. But just being involved around T20 cricket for a period of time, sort of, allows you to get into that sort of a mode," he added.

From a base price of INR 75 lakh, Jamieson's services were procured by RCB for a whooping INF 15 crore, making him one of the most expensive buys in the tournament's history.

In his seven matches for RCB this season, the New Zealand pacer picked up nine wickets at 24.55. Only Harshal Patel with 17 wickets has more.