'He Is A Guy Who Can Take The West Indies Cricket Forward' : Kieron Pollard Lavishes Praises On The Youngster

West Indian white-ball captain Kieron Pollard has a busy international season ahead of him as there are limited-overs visits lined up from South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia. Towards the end of this year, Kieron Pollard also has the responsibility of defending the West Indies’ World T20 crown. Meanwhile, the towering seam-bowling all-rounder has earmarked one of his teammates to take the national team forward.

It is Shimron Hetmyer, who Kieron Pollard has backed to achieve big things and take West Indies cricket forward. Shimron Hetmyer is amongst the hard-hitting batsmen that the Caribbean has produced in recent years and has proved his mettle across formats. But since debuting in 2017, the southpaw has featured in only 16 Tests, 45 ODIs, and 27 T20Is and notably missed a considerable number of games recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fitness issues. As a result, Cricket West Indies did not offer him a central contract for the 2021-22 season.

Kieron Pollard understands Shimron Hetmyer’s capability and talent, backing the 33-year old to take the West Indies cricket forward. The T&T all-rounder admired his skill and is aware of what Hetmyer can accomplish on the field. Pollard stated he would love for the 24-year old to feature across formats; however, he knows that it is up to that particular individual to decide what he wants to play.

“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,” Pollard told during the Line & Length TV Show on Sportsmax.

He has a fantastic record in ODI cricket: Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard also knows Shimron Hetmyer has an incredible record in ODI cricket and has seen his exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. Speaking of the home assignments against South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia, the medium-pace bowling all-rounder is not focusing too much on the opposition’s names and has faith in his bunch to deliver when it matters.

“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. 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,” he added.

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