It was during the second ODI between India and West Indies that took place at Chennai where the Indian spectators were exposed to the brand new batting sensation from the Caribbean. The West Indies batters are always known to be hard hitters and Heymyer, even though was new to the stage, played with courage and determination to take his side over the line. That marked the rise of a new power hitter for the West Indies side who had quality technique to counter both pace and spin.
Usually, players from all across the globe struggle to even middle the ball while playing spin in Asian conditions. Hetmyer was one such player who had absolutely no issues in playing the spinning tracks in India. He hit a hundred in the turning pitches in India to make a mark for himself in the big stage. Since then, Hetmyer has been a fear factor for every bowler.
He began to be a seasoned player for the West Indies limited-overs side until the big-hitting batter was unavailable for selection due to fitness woes. And it happened many times as the batter had no place in the squad due to fitness issues. Hetmyer kept failing in the fitness tests before the selection for international tours. This was a major concern for the West Indies side and they had no other option than to leave him out of the side.
But now, things have changed as Hetmyer was picked by Rajasthan Royals during the mega auction for a whooping 8 crores. Many cricket pundits were unhappy with the selection because he was not even considered for the International side at that time. And Hetmyer repid the favor for the franchise by being one of the supreme ball strikers in the tournament and a swashbuckling finisher for his side.
‘West Indies will miss Shimron Hetmyer, hopeful of his return soon’ – Assistant coach Estwick
The Rajasthan Royals finisher will miss the opportunity to represent his national side in the upcoming series against the Netherlands and Pakistan, respectively. The Windies’ assistant coach Roddy Estwick had his opinion of Hetmyer shed out to the media. Estwick remarked on how Hetmyer’s loss will affect, although the Guyanese is expected to return shortly.
“If someone like Hetmyer is not playing, you’re obviously going to miss his talent. He’s having an outstanding season for the Rajasthan Royals. He’s doing very, very well. He’s playing well. He will be missed, but at the end of the day, he’s not there. He’s asked not to be selected for this tour, so we have to get on without him, and we hope that he will make himself available for future tours,” he stated.
The three-match ODI series versus the Netherlands will be difficult for the tourists since several of their stars will be arriving directly from the IPL. After completing their IPL duties, some players will fly immediately to the Netherlands.
“Our expectation is to win all three ODIs [in the Netherlands], but it’s not going to be easy. Remember, a lot of the players won’t have played in conditions like the ones we’ll encounter in the Netherlands. It’s about how quickly we adjust to conditions. We’ve only got a couple of days’ practice before we go into the first ODI, so it’s all about adjusting and getting used to the conditions and then executing plans as well as possible,”
HE CONCLUDED.
The Netherlands and West Indies will play their first-ever one-day international series at Amstelveen from May 31 to June 4. The Netherlands side is sponsored by Fairtree which is a global investment company whereas the Caribbean side continues their partnership with Betway which is highly popular for online casino games. Betway is the official betting partner of Windies Cricket.
