Experts questioned the logic behind sending Shimron Hetmyer at No. 8, a player who was retained for his INR 11 crore for his batting abilities
Normalcy resumed for Kolkata Knight Riders, as the defending champions bounced back to winning ways on Wednesday in Guwahati with a comfortable victory against Rajasthan Royals in their second game of the ongoing IPL 2025 season. However, the 2008 champions languished at the bottom of the table following a second consecutive loss in the season, and coach Rahul Dravid was criticised for the back-to-back defeats.
RR were criticised for sending Shimron Hetmyer at No. 8(PTI)
Speaking to Cricbuzz, former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull questioned the logic behind sending Shimron Hetmyer at No. 8, a player who was retained for his INR 11 crore for his batting abilities. Doull reminded that the West Indies batter plays as high as No. 3 or 4 in the Caribbean Premier League.
“Why are you protecting Hetmyer? What was the money they retained him for? 11 crore. He batted number eight. He bats at three or four in Guyana. You can get pigeonholed into a position where, ‘Oh, he’s a finisher,’ but that’s rubbish. He’s a batter, and you’re sort of using your resources before you need to by sending in your impact sub. So some really poor planning from Rajasthan in the first couple of games. Actually, it’s been some. Some different strategies and decisions that I haven’t agreed with at all,” he said.
Doull also felt that using Shubham Dubey as an impact sub, scoring nine off 12 against KKR, was a poor call and that he should have been used after Hetmyer and Jofra Archer.
“What if Hetmyer comes out at 5 or 6, gets some runs, and partners with Dhruv Jurel? Suddenly, you don’t need Dubey…nine from 12 is not an impact. And then Archer comes in and gets those sixes. So you can actually use Hetmyer and Archer before using your impact sub as a batter. That will allow you to bring your other spin bowler in,” he said.
‘How much of a difference is Hetmyer going to make if he’s…?’
Former England cricketer Nick Knight, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, spoke much on the same lines as he lashed out at the way Hetmyer was utilised in the game against Kolkata.
“I don’t get it. I don’t get why if you sign Hetmyer…you know what you’re gonna get from him? He’s a world-class, international batsman. You’ve signed him to change the game. You’ve signed him to turn the game. You’ve signed him to make a difference. How much of a difference is he going to make if he’s just pushed down the order?” he asked.
Veteran India batter Ambati Rayudu felt Rajasthan missed the trick by not sending Hetmyer up the order on a pitch where he could have made a difference.
“He plays spin really well and we have seen that he plays really well on slow tracks as well. Back in the Caribbean and even in the CPL, they play on tracks which are quite similar to a few of the venues there. So I think they missed a trick there,” he said.
