Shimron Hetmyer will turn up for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming IPL season.
The southpaw started his IPL journey with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before he was signed by Delhi Capitals (DC).
With less than a week to go for the IPL 2022, Hetmyer expressed his excitement about playing for the Royals.
"I'm really excited to get going for the Royals. 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," the left-hander said.
"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," he added.
Reflecting on his initial IPL days and U-19 World Cup win as a captain in 2016, Hetmyer said, "I think it was 2018, I had a chance to go to a camp with the Royals in Mumbai and that was one of my first interactions with an IPL team. It felt like a great atmosphere back then, met some really thoughtful cricketing people and was again glad to see some of them still with the squad this season as well."
"It was fantastic being around an IPL set-up such as the Royals, and how they would approach and work towards things. I felt it was an insightful experience and something that I've carried with myself ever since", he added.
He may have been fetched by RR for a hefty sum of INR 8.5 crore, but Shimron Hetmyer feels no pressure from the price tag.
"There's no pressure of the price tag on me, it's a challenge to help the Royals when I'm out there. The price tag does not really matter to me, it's the runs I score that help contribute to the team's cause that matter," he said.
"I'm ready for any role the team needs me to perform. It's imperative to do well as a player in the squad. And at my end, as I've always believed, is to just give myself that chance to be out there and the performance will come, no matter what the situation of the game is."
The Caribbean cricketer is also looking forward to play under the coaching of Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara at Rajasthan Royals.
"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."
(With ANI inputs)