Shimron Hetmyer- Filled with immense talent, but lost in the shuffle

Half a decade back in time, there walked a young batsman down the Kingston Jamaica pitch on Day 4 of the First Test between the West Indies and Pakistan.

Things weren't looking too good for the hosts, led by Jason Holder; they stared at a 121-run deficit despite posting a promising first inning score of 286.

And when the usually rigid and patient-like-the-gently-flowing-lake Kraigg Brathwaite departed on the first ball of the tenth over of the third inning, all attention shifted to the avid youngster.

There was something peculiar and absorbing about the new man in. 

Donning the maroon hat- not cap- one that was perhaps last spotted during the reign of Richie Richardson, the left-hander occupied the crease, took guard in a quintessential Guyanese fashion, which is to take the bails off, plonk them onto the pitch before taking the stance, and readied himself to face the first ball.

However, there was something else in that approach that was later written extensively about.

The batter was found standing comfortably, not marginally, outside the pitch.

It was as if to tell what was clearly a searing Pakistani attack, featuring Wahab, Amir, and Yasir Shah that do "whatever it is you want to do, am not here to get subdued or feel pressure."

One over down the line, the hat was off despite the excruciating sun and the enervating heat that took hold of the ground and the team that was battling to stay alive in the contest.

And soon came the moment of the game that was perhaps captured by dozens of shutterbugs that reported on the contest: the left-hander dancing down the track and lifting Yasir Shah, perhaps the finest leg spinner of that time, over long-on for a towering six.

The stay at the wicket was brief and lasted for merely 49 overs. 

But what was abundantly evident was the intent and the attacking manner in which debutant Shimron Hetmyer conducted himself, ending his second inning in the Test with a strike rate of 71.

As he walked back, having played one down the line only to see the ball ricocheting back onto the stumps, there was evident frustration, and the sight of the tiny cricket bat as the central emblem of his gold-studded locket wasn't hard to miss.

For someone who considers batting as his true joy, it only made sense that the instrument of liberation- the bat- was held close to the heart.

Half a decade since, Hetmyer, an entity some call discarded by the West Indies whilst others consider an unmistakably an asset of the Rajasthan Royals, is still here. Very much here.

Few cricketers have been as frequently a part of a national unit as they've been seen away from it; the last ODI that Shimron Hetmyer played was in July 2021, whilst it'll soon be three years since he last featured for the West Indies in a Test.

Many have perhaps even forgotten that Shimron Hetmyer even featured in the solitary Test the West Indies played in Lucknow against Afghanistan. 

After all, a lot has happened since that game in November 2019. 

The Windies found a new white-ball captain in Pollard, defeated Ireland in an absorbing white-ball series in 2020, beat the touring Sri Lankans in 2021, got hammered by them later that same year, saw the rise of Sherfane Rutherford, realized Cornwall is not someone to be ignored, found Shai Hope in a nightmare form, evidenced the rise of Roston Chase- the T20I player, and even found a way to embarrass themselves in India in early 2022, where they failed to win a single white-ball contest.

But despite several ups and downs and amid the ever-changing vagaries of the game, Shimron Hetmyer has continued to stay relevant in the sport.

Courtesy striking performances that came in the world's most-followed T20 franchise league, albeit in the very format in which his West Indies are considered giant killers, Hetmyer has made significant strides forward in his game.

At a time where there's no Carlos Brathwaite and Chris Gayle anymore in the IPL with only Narine and Russell doing something worth writing about (Pooran and Holder have been but moderately successful), Shimron Hetmyer is the only other West Indian who's found his sweet spot in the TRP chart-topping T20 league that some of the world's most renowned cricketers consider their true ambition.

Whilst much of our attention in the ongoing season came to rest- and understandably so- with Jos Buttler's ferocious hitting, Chennai and Mumbai's strange spiral decline, and with Lucknow and Gujarat's inimitable form- there stood a certain Shimron Odilon Hetmyer holding his ground for Rajasthan.

Yet, whilst most of us were simply busy subjecting Mumbai or Chennai to hilarious memes given their lack of performance and if not, then perhaps in awe of an Avesh Khan and names like Arshdeep and Tilka Verma, Shimron Hetmyer continued to pile on the runs for his Rajasthan.

Perhaps it never occurred to us that he remained unbeaten on seven of the eleven innings in which he wielded the bat, and once he did, it almost always rained runs for RR: thus far, he's scored 291 runs off just 175 deliveries.

Whilst surely the way de Kock and Rahul plundered Kolkata to all sides of the park on May 18, Iyer's side never suspecting the carnage that was to strike, perhaps it didn't occur to us that there was Hetmyer too in his zone, who contributed like few others did.

One of the least reported of all IPL happenings this season is the batting average of the free-stroking Guyanese bat: at 72.7 it warrants greater praise than given.

In an earlier game against the Mumbai Indians, Hetmyer plonked Pollard to collect 26 runs from 6 deliveries. He didn't hit the former Windies white ball captain mercilessly; he toyed with him.

On April 10, earlier in the campaign, Hetmyer blasted a 36-ball-59 against the Super Giants; his stand-and-deliver assault featured six sixes.

Yet, life's not easy for the 25-year-old who's witnessed both ups and downs and perhaps a taint of neglect that must be meticulously scrutinized.

It doesn't help and actually makes zero sense that someone of Hetmyer's abilities be kept away from the national side. Imagine a newly restructured West Indies team preparing for the mega T20 world cup campaign. 

Though the thing that most concerns the avid Caribbean cricket fan is that how can it be that Rajasthan is willing to feature- and does go on to feature- a semi-fit or, let's say, an unfit Hetmyer whilst the same batsman is deemed unfit for national duties?

Surely, Rajasthan are not playing with the fitness of a batsman who's ever keen to put on a whack with the cricket ball, right? They'd be utterly selfish to compromise the health and well-being of a batter, who, as per his national set-up, has repeatedly failed the fitness test?

Hetmyer is walking the tightrope- with the Windies national duties on the one hand and the participation in mega cash-rich T20 leagues on the other.

But let's just hope that his- is not a fall, for he deserves nothing of that sort. May there be a prominent rise in the times to come.