Watch: ‘I was pissed’ – Shimron Hetmyer tells R Ashwin about being demoted in batting order by Delhi Capitals

Batting lower down the order is a challenge that Shimron Hetmyer has accepted with an open mind as he relishes playing his small but significant part in Delhi Capitals’ (DC) immensely successful run in this year’s edition of the IPL.

Hetmyer has been asked to do the difficult lower middle-order duties in a DC batting unit with a strong top-order, featuring the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer. But even as the opportunities to get the eye in have been limited, the Caribbean left-hander is happy contributing in whichever he can for his team.

Hetmyer played a vital knock of 28 not out off 18 balls in Monday’s (October 4) low-scoring thriller against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Dubai. His knock helped DC reach the tricky 137-run target despite being 99/6 at the end of the 15th over. Hetmyer finished the game unbeaten, showing he is a player of not just great promise and talent but also a wide range.

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Shimron Hetmyer speaks on challenges of adjusting to a different role with DC

In a conversation with his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer talked honestly about the challenges of batting in a role directly in contrast to what he does for the West Indies.

An aggressive batter independent of the position he bats in, Hetmyer said it still hasn’t been easy to go from being a West Indies top 4 batter to a Delhi Capitals No.6 or No.7. But he has embraced the challenge with open arms.

“I am enjoying it (the role) quite a lot actually,” Hetmyer told Ashwin when the latter praised him for his important contributions and asked if he relishes his role with DC.

“Sometimes, it is tough, (especially) on some of the pitches that we have played (in India and UAE). But I am trying to be more open to different challenges.”

“Playing for the West Indies, I bat in the top 4. (But) here, it’s a different challenge for me and so far it has been really fun and I am really enjoying it,” he added.

Shimron Hetmyer has been putting the finishing touches to DC’s innings right throughout the IPL 2021. The left-hander has collected only 159 runs from his 11 outings for the season but his runs have come at an astonishing strike-rate of 180.68 without any significant compromise on his average (39.75).

During their conversation, Ashwin also pulled Hetmyer’s leg when he asked for his thoughts on being demoted in the batting order below him. Ashwin walked out to bat at No.6, a position above Hetmyer, against CSK in Dubai. But was out for 2 off 3 balls.

When Ashwin asked “how did you feel seeing me walking in to bat ahead of you today?”, the batter initially burst out laughing and said, “I was pissed at first honestly”. But, again, Shimron Hetmyer stressed he is happy batting whatever position is best for the team.