IPL 2022: Rajasthan Royals squad has the potential to bring the cup home this year, says Shimron Hetmyer

Rajasthan Royals batter Shimron Hetmyer reckons the squad has the potential to go all the way in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.

The left-hander was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for a whopping amount of INR 8.50 crores in the IPL mega auction 2022.

Rajasthan Royals were able to buy players like Devdutt Padikkal, Rassie van der Dussen, Jimmy Neesham. The inaugural champions were able to rope in veteran spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Furthermore, Rajasthan Royals were able to get the services of Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, and Nathan Coulter-Nile. Thus, they have a potent bowling line-up and they would aim to tick the right boxes.

Hetmyer is really excited to be part of the Rajasthan Royals family and he will look to deliver the goods for the team.

“I’m really excited to get going for the Royals,” the West Indian southpaw shared. “I’ve heard some really nice things about the franchise from my good friend Evin Lewis, and I can’t wait to get going and just enjoy myself as part of the squad,” added the 25-year-old.

Meanwhile, Hetmyer made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019 but could not grab his opportunity in that season. He was then roped in by Delhi Capitals and he did a fine job for the franchise. The southpaw has scored 517 runs in 31 IPL matches at an average of 25.85 and a strike rate of 151.17.

“My first season in the IPL at RCB was a challenging one, for a young player, and being the only West Indian in the squad was a tough one to start off in franchise cricket. IPL, in general, has been a wonderful learning experience that has taught me to look at myself and my game differently and has enabled me to learn and develop the right processes.”

Hetmyer is also looking forward to playing under the tutelage of Kumar Sangakkara, who is regarded as one of the greats of the game.

“It’s very exciting to play under someone like Kumar Sangakkara. A legend of the game, I’ve heard some amazing things about him and can’t wait to get his brains on certain aspects of my game, that can help become better not just in the white-ball format but also in the longer version of the game with the red ball. Yes, I am very excited about the team that we have this year. I believe there is big potential in the squad to bring the cup home this year.”

Rajasthan Royals will take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening clash of the season on March 29 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.