‘Injury problems’ keep Hetmyer out of contention- CWI Lead Selector

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector for the Men’s team, Desmond Haynes, said he is hoping Guyanese batsman Shimron Hetmyer can sort his fitness issues and find himself back in the West Indies team.

At a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Haynes was questioned on Hetmyer’s omission from the upcoming limited-over series against Bangladesh.

He stated, “Hetty’s report is that he is having some injury problems and we are hoping he can get himself fit to get back into the colours of the West Indies.”

Haynes was unable to say definitively when Hetmyer last did a fitness test, but stated it might have been done prior to the Indian Premier League, which started on March 26 and ended May 29.

West Indies are due to play Bangladesh in three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals in Dominica and Guyana.

Earlier in the year, Hetmyer made himself unavailable for West Indies selection due to the birth of his child. He has not represented the regional side since the West Indies crashed out of the World T20 in the United Arab Emirates in November.

In May, News Room Sport had reported that the CWI Selection Panel was considering Hetmyer for selection of tours to the Netherlands and Pakistan, but he informed them of his unavailability via email.

During his IPL stint, Hetmyer left Rajasthan Royals and returned home to Guyana for the birth of his child and later returned for the latter matches.

Additionally, Hetmyer has no contract with CWI at either the international or regional level, meaning he would only be eligible to play on a ‘pay for play’ basis at his availability.

Ideally, he would still need to seek No Objection Certificates (NOC) to play in Leagues worldwide.