Shimron Hetmyer Credits Rajasthan Royals for Helping Him Ace No.3 Role at T20 World Cup 2026
West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer has been a revelation at No.3 in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. While he started his career in a similar role, the southpaw has adapted himself in the lower order, acting as a finisher in recent times, with only three out of 112 innings at No.3 from 2024 until last year in T20s.
But once Nicholas Pooran retired, West Indies needed someone who could replicate his role in the top order, and Hetmyer decided to take the responsibility despite being pushed out of his comfort zone. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Hetmyer explained he found comfort in this role, having done it previously, and he faced the new ball at times in nets with Rajasthan Royals (RR).
“Off the field, I think I was still batting [against] the new ball. Sometimes when I’m playing with Rajasthan [Royals in the IPL], I still have the coach who just comes in and throws some new balls at me just to get the ball swinging around just a little bit. It’s just to make sure that I’m in the right positions and so on, that when I come down to the end, I still hold my shape.”
Shimron Hetmyer has scored 134 runs at an average of 44.66 and strike rate of 159.52 in four innings, including a fifty, in the competition so far, all at No.3. After playing a match-winning knock against Scotland in the opening fixture, he continued to make an impact, with a quickfire 23 at a strike rate of 191.66 against England and unbeaten 46 against Nepal to take West Indies to Super 8 round.
How Shimron Hetmyer’s improvements against spin helped him at T20 World Cup 2026
A major reason why Shimron Hetmyer could succeed at No.3 instantly, despite not playing this role for a number of years, was his improvements against spinners. Like the top-order job, Hetmyer aced spinners early in his career, but his spin abilities took a major hit in between.
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From 2023 to 2024, he had an average of 19.92 and a strike rate of 121.30 against slow bowlers, with a balls-per-boundary ratio of 7.93. However, Hetmyer’s average and strike rate have shot to 44.47 and 165.06, respectively, and he has hit a boundary every 4.92 deliveries since 2025.
When his spin game regressed a couple of years back, the West Indies batter wasn’t entirely at fault, for his role was completely different at that time. Everywhere he played, including for his national team, Hetmyer was asked to bat low, with his entry points delayed as much as possible, to fit him in the finisher’s role.
Hence, he didn’t really face enough spin during that period, which affected his game massively and reduced him to a one-trick pony. Fortunately, Hetmyer found a fresh role in West Indies team just when he began to improve against slow bowlers, and he will now hope to continue his good work to take his team all the way through the T20 World Cup 2026.
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