Pollard assures opportunities will come for ‘fit and well’ Hetmyer

By Akeem Greene

Pugnacious batsman Shimron Hetmyer was recalled to the West Indies unit when he was named in the 18-man provisional squad for the 15 Twenty20 Internationals at home against South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan.

However, for the first three matches against South Africa, he was not included in the 13-man squad, and according to skipper Kieron Pollard, that decision is linked to the balance of the team.

Speaking before Tuesday’s third T20I with the series tied 1-1, Pollard said opportunities will come for the 24-year-old, who is fit and performs well in the net sessions.

“Shimron is fit and well, he came into the camp on the 15^th or 16^th, and everyone has been training since then. Remember we have a provisional squad of 18 guys so each and everybody will get an opportunity to play,” the skipper said at a Virtual press conference.

Pollard further stated: “It is only 11 can play and when you look at different combinations and different things, you have to take all of these things into consideration.”

Hetmyer, Sheldon Cottrell, Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh Jr. also out of contention, while in the two matches to date, Fidel Edwards and Lendl Simmons have warmed the benches, as the hosts fielded the same XI in the games in Grenada.

“All these questions could be asked of these guys as well, but we continue to hear the noise about one individual. At the end of the day, this is a team, and everyone will get an opportunity in terms of combinations when we see it fit,” Pollard contented.

In his last five T20I innings, the Guyanese batsman, who lost his international retainer contract for the 2021-22 season, has scores of 25, 0, 43*, 4*, and 28.

At this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League, he scored 84 runs in six innings for Delhi Capitals and had a best of 53* and a strike rate of 204.87.

On Monday, Cricket West Indies Selection Panel named an unchanged 13-member squad for the third T20I and Roger Harper, Lead Selector, indicated, “With this series in the balance, we would like to give this squad another opportunity to display how well they can play together. We are aware that there are still a number of T20Is ahead so there will be opportunities for other players going forward.”

The first ball is expected to bowl off at 14:00h.

West Indies squad for third T20I: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair.