IPL 2021: Playing With Rishabh Pant, Playing Under Him Will Be A Good Challenge: DC Batsman Shimron Hetmyer

Explosive West Indian batsman Shimron Hetmyer is gearing up for the upcoming IPL 2021 season where the Delhi Capitals (DC), his franchise, will play their first game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), at the Wankhede Stadium on April 9.

The left-hander’s explosive hitting was one of the reasons why the Delhi Capitals made it into the finals of the IPL 2020. This season, however, DC will be under a new leader, as Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the IPL 2021 due to his shoulder injury, and the management named Rishabh Pant as the new captain.

Hetmyer is familiar with Rishabh Pant, given that they were part of the 2016 U19 World Cup in Bangladesh, where West Indies under Hetmyer’s captaincy beat Ishan Kishan’s India in the final to win the trophy by five wickets.

Playing With Rishabh Pant, Playing Under Him Will Be A Good Challenge: Shimron Hetmyer

Five years since that tournament, Hetmyer and Pant emerged as the brightest prospects from their respective teams and have now become an integral part of the Delhi Capitals core.

“Happy and sad at the same time because Shreyas Isn’t here and I think it’s pretty good. I’m happy for him. [We] basically played against him from Under-19, so I’m really happy for him. Playing with him, playing under him will be a good challenge. It’s a good challenge for him and I think he will live up to it very well,” Hetmyer told Delhi Capitals TV.

Last year, he played 12 games for DC, scoring 185 runs from 12 games, and while those were slightly better than his numbers for RCB in 2019. In all 17 matches, Hetmyer has managed to score 275 runs with just one half-century.

Felt Great Coming Back Out Today: Shimron Hetmyer On Completing His 7-Day Quarantine

As per the BCCI and IPL SOPs, every foreign player not from England squad which were in India recently, has to undergo a strict 7-day quarantine before they can join their respective squads. Delhi Capitals have already seen Axar Patel testing COVID-19 positive and is in isolation and is expected to miss their tournament opener against CSK on April 10.

“It felt great coming back out today… after seven days, to be honest. Back home I was sitting just a little bit. But to be back in Delhi, in India to be honest is really good to be here. I’m really enjoying it so far and even the first day, I’m enjoying it. Started enjoying it from the first day really, so more to come,” Hetmyer said about getting out in the field.

Delhi Capitals would like to go one step further than IPL 2020 and win the IPL 2021 trophy.

Also Read: Steve Smith Hopeful Of Delhi Capitals Getting The Better Of Mumbai Indians In IPL 2021