Omission from ODI team needed to happen - Ronchi
New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi said his exclusion from the ODI team for the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy was justified given his poor form in the lead-up
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Dec-2016
Luke Ronchi had a poor series in India, scoring seven runs in three ODI matches after a decent showing in the Tests • Associated Press
New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi said that his omission from the ODI squad for the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy was "something that needed to happen" given his poor form in previous series.
Ronchi was recalled for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh, which starts from December 26, after BJ Watling struggled in Australia.
"I'd had an extended run with the team and didn't do as well as I should have been doing," Ronchi said. "I was fine with the whole situation. I understood. It's cricket and you can only play 11 people and if there's people doing better, they deserve to play.
"It [getting dropped] was something that needed to happen. It didn't bother me. I needed to be out of the team. You have to perform and if you're not performing then you can't expect to be given games all the time."
The 35-year old's exclusion for the series in Australia came after a prolonged run of modest returns. Since February 2015, Ronchi has scored 254 runs in 34 ODIs at an average of 10.58. On the recent tour of India, he scored seven runs in three ODIs. Since his exclusion, however, Ronchi has found some form, scoring heavily for Wellington in the first-class and T20 formats. He scored a century in the Plunket Shield and is among the top run-getters in the ongoing Super Smash T20 tournament, with 165 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 166.66.
"I hadn't been making the runs [for New Zealand] so you just have to go back and get some confidence again playing for Wellington," he said. "That's been going well, so hopefully I can bring that back into this team."
Ronchi said he would look to employ a more restrained approach against Bangladesh, a team he has played only twice in ODIs.
"I have to give myself more time to get in, that's what I've been doing recently," he said. "I just need to realise you've got longer than what you think. And not try and do quite so much, even if it's five balls I don't need to get 30 runs off five balls. I just need to give myself a little more time."