Jacobs aims to play T20 WC after learning new facets of his game from IPL 2025 stint

He was also included in New Zealand’s squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

  New Delhi: After being selected in New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe, hard-hitting batter Bevon Jacobs sees the series as his first step towards achieving the goal of playing next year’s T20 World Cup, especially after learning new things about his game during his IPL 2025 stint with Mumbai Indians.

Jacobs was a surprise pick in last year’s IPL, when MI took him at the mega auction in Jeddah. He was also included in New Zealand’s squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Though he didn’t earn a place in the playing elevens of BlackCaps or MI, Jacobs may well make his international debut in the tri-series starting on July 14 in Harare, which also involves South Africa, the country of his birth.

“The IPL was an amazing experience, and I got three months there to learn new facets of my game. And I think I’ve made those learnings and improvements. Obviously, implementing it into my game is going to be a longer work in progress. But taking away from the technical stuff, there’s also a lot of mental learnings that I’ve got from it as well, which I know will change me just for the time being. “So, hopefully, I can bring what I’ve learnt from there into the series. I mean, that (playing the T20 World Cup) is a massive goal for me. It would be a dream come true to go to that. And I guess for me, it’s just about controlling what I can control. And if that opportunity comes again, that would be pretty special to me,” Jacobs was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

While New Zealand may try him as a finisher in T20Is, Jacobs feels his versatility as a batter is a factor which could get him into playing eleven. “I guess my experience in my career is short, but I’ve had almost two different roles, obviously, starting off in that finisher role.”