Kieron Pollard lavishes praise on Shimron Hetmyer and believes the player can dominate in all formats of the game

Kieron Pollard lavishes praise on Shimron Hetmyer and believes the player can dominate in all formats of the game

Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard

West Indies have a busy international schedule ahead of them as they play South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia for limited over bilateral series at home. These series act as preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup and skipper, Kieron Pollard has the job on his hands to defend the title. Meanwhile, Pollard has tossed his support behind Shimron Hetmyer, saying he hopes the young batsman will take West Indies forward and dominate across formats.

Shimron Hetmyer is one of the most explosive batters in recent times and he has proven his worth in different formats. However, after making his debut in 2017, he has only played 16 Tests, 45 ODIs, and 27 T20Is, missing a significant amount of games recently due to the COVID-19 outbreak and fitness concerns.

Pollard, recently with an interaction on the Line & Length TV Show praised Shimron Hetmyer to become dominant in all formats of international cricket and take the game forward in the country.

Kieron Pollard speaks on Shimron Hetmyer

Shimron Hetmyer
Shimron Hetmyer

Hetmyer was left out of the Cricket West annual contract for the 2021-22 season. Pollard believes Hetmyer has to strive stronger to earn the faith of the selectors.

“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. 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 Pollard.

Hetmyer averages 28 in 16 Tests, however, in ODIs he has five centuries and averages around 37 from 42 games, while in T20s he has recorded 379 runs with a strike rate of 117. Pollard is aware that Shimron Hetmyer has a stellar ODI record and has seen his accomplishments in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“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.” added Pollard.

Talking about the upcoming home matches against South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia, Pollard isn’t too concerned with the opposition’s names and is confident in his team’s ability to succeed when it counts.

“We have to plan properly in order to conquer. 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),” concluded Pollard.

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