He scored 49 runs in 34 balls.
West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd has sealed his spot in the RCB retention list with another blitzkrieg knock with the willow ahead of the IPL 2026 retention deadline. He flexed his muscles again while batting in the lower order against New Zealand in Nelson, even though his knock went in vain.
Shepherd scored 49 runs in 34 balls, including four boundaries and three maximums, at a strike rate of 144.12 while batting at No.8. 69.38% of his runs came via fours and sixes, and he scored 29.16% of the team’s runs alone.
Earlier, he also bowled a decent spell of 3-0-23-1, dismissing a big batter, Rachin Ravindra, just before he could convert his start into a big score. Shepherd has been in exceptional form for a while and provided balance to the West Indies lineup in white-ball formats.
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He always had massive potential, but his IPL 2025 stint with RCB helped him understand his game better and develop into a complete package. Since then, he has played for other franchises in various T20 leagues and the West Indies, showing his improved expertise with both bat and ball.
Romario Shepherd has multiple reasons to deserve a spot in the RCB retention list ahead of IPL 2026 auction after what he did for the franchise last season. He didn’t have chances at the start, but when he finally got a look in, Shepherd consistently made a positive impact.
Shepherd scored 70 runs at a strike rate of 291.66 in three innings. Additionally, he took six wickets at an average of 25.16 in seven innings in IPL 2025, providing crucial breakthroughs at times.
Moreover, RCB will likely release Liam Livingstone after his poor performances last season, and they will require an all-rounder who can do the job. Obviously, the defending champions will search for another option in this department, but Shepherd provides them ample value at just INR 1.5 crore.
Despite the Impact Player rule, the Caribbean all-rounder showed there’s still room for players like him, and he does the toughest job in batting: acting as a finisher and hitting big against pacers. With the ball, he has a wicket-taking knack and has shown improved accuracy over his yorkers in death overs, which should be enough reasons for RCB to retain him.
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