Kieron Pollard, West Indies limited-overs skipper wants to see star batsman Shimron Hetmyer dominate across all formats in international cricket. However, Kieron Pollard feels the southpaw has to work harder to gain the confidence of the selectors.
Shimron Hetmyer has not consistently featured in the last year due to injury concerns and he even opted out of the Bangladesh tour earlier this year. Since making his debut in 2017, the 24-year-old has played only 16 Tests, 45 ODIs, and 27 T20Is for the West Indies.
Kieron Pollard: Shimron Hetmyer Can Take West Indies Cricket Forward And Should Be Playing All 3 Formats
During an interaction on the Line & Length TV Show on Sportsmax, Kieron Pollard stated that Shimron Hetmyer is the player who will take West Indies cricket forward.
“We love Hetty. He is a young, talented cricketer. He is a guy who we know, deep in our hearts, can take West Indies cricket forward from a generational point of view with his skill and what he can achieve on a cricket field,” said Kieron Pollard.
“He knows the truth and he knows what it is. We would love Hetty to be playing all three formats, but as the saying goes, ‘You can only take the horse to the water, but you can’t force him to drink.’ With that being said, I will leave it right there and for the individual to get things together,” said Kieron Pollard.
Speaking about Shimron Hetmyer’s performances across the different formats of the game, Kieron Pollard said: “He has a fantastic record in ODI cricket. We saw what he can do in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it’s just for him to take what’s in front of him. The world is at his feet.”
Over the last year, Shimron Hetmyer has managed only 100 runs from five innings in T20Is and 14 runs in two ODIs. The southpaw last played a Test match in November 2019. He could not make it into the West Indies squad for the recent home series against Sri Lanka after failing to clear the mandatory fitness test.
He last featured in an ODI match in January 2020. Shimron Hetmyer scored 84 runs in 6 matches for Delhi Capitals (DC) in now-postponed IPL 2021.
Kieron Pollard: West Indies Have To Plan Properly In Order To Conquer South Africa
Kieron Pollard warned that the West Indies will have to be at their best to beat a very talented South African side. The Men in Maroon play South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting June 26.
“We have to plan properly in order to conquer. I’m not looking too much into the names (of the opposition) because as I said before these guys are talented in their own right as they would have not been selected for their national teams (otherwise),” said Kieron Pollard.
The Cricket West Indies selection panel on Tuesday had announced a provisional 18-man squad for the three back-to-back five-match T20I series against South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan. Andre Russell has returned to the T20I squad for the first time since March 2020.
Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, and Hayden Walsh Jr. return alongside the majority of the squad who featured in the 2-1 T20I Series victory against Sri Lanka in March. Kieron Pollard, who led the team to the ODI and T20I series win against Sri Lanka, will continue to captain the team. Nicholas Pooran will play the role of Kieron Pollard’s deputy. It has been learned that Suni Narine is still not ready to return to international cricket.
West Indies T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jnr