Stop hating on ‘Hetty’, says Sarwan

By Avenash Ramzan

Former Guyana captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is batting for his compatriot Shimron Hetmyer, who has often been the subject of criticism on social media and elsewhere for his shot selection.

In his brief international career thus far, many have been critical of the Berbician left-hander, who has, on more than one occasions, gifted his wicket when seemingly set for a huge score.

Despite this, Hetmyer, 22, has already racked up four ODI hundreds in 25 games at an average of 40, and has scores of 93, 86 and 81 among his five Test fifties, averaging 30 in 13 matches.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Sarwan was in full support of the World Cup-winning West Indies Youth skipper.

“I noticed for several months now people on social media have been criticizing Hetty; I am aware and understand why some people may be angry and disappointed with his shot selections at times. However, we must remember this kid is 22 years of age, I am very confident he would mature over the next year or so, if so long,” Sarwan, the former West Indies captain, outlined.

He continued, “Please, especially my fellow Guyanese, let’s support him because I strongly believe this kid is special. He will dominate all 3 formats of international cricket and all the leagues around the world in years to come, and not too many players around the world have done that. He is a rare breed that need our support.”

Hetmyer, who recently represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in his maiden stint in the IPL, playing alongside modern-day greats Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, is the lone Guyanese in the West Indies World Cup squad.

He is set to appear in his first-ever global event, when action bowls off on May 30 in England.

In July 2018, West Indies captain Jason Holder said he wanted Hetmyer to place more value on his wicket by playing longer innings, which could be match-defining.

“It’s something that him and I have been talking about for a while. He is probably one of the better players of spin in our batting line up and I just encourage him to go deep,” Holder related at a post-match press conference after Hetmyer stroked a compact 52 from 78 balls, but his demise hastened West Indies’ 48-run defeat to Bangladesh at Providence.

In an exclusive interview with News Room earlier this year, Hetmyer himself indicated that he is learning on the job, especially in the area of game awareness.