West Indies middle-order batsman Shimron Hetmyer is all set to make his debut in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after getting picked as a replacement player for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leg, starting on June 9.
Hetmyer’s Multan Sultans will play on Thursday, June 10. “I am excited to join up with the Multan Sultans and to experience the PSL for the first time. It is a very competitive league and with a lot of very good local talent. It is a good opportunity to experience the conditions in the UAE and I am hopeful I can help contribute to the team on and off the field,” Hetmyer said.
Recently, 13 players were either replaced/added to the existing six PSL squads ahead of the tournament’s resumption in Abu Dhabi later this month via a virtual draft. Hetmyer, who has featured in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Indian Premier League (IPL) so far in franchise cricket, was picked up by Multan Sultans, as a replacement player.
Multan also picked up another West Indies hard-hitting batsman, Johnson Charles, who was part of the victorious West Indies World T20 side in 2016.
Hetmyer was blanked for his home team’s recent series against Sri Lanka after failing to meet Cricket West Indies (CWI) minimum fitness requirements. Despite losing his central contract with CWI, the 24-year-old Guyanese left-hander was included in the 18-man West Indies provisional squad for the back-to-back-to-back home series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan starting later this month.
Hetmyer was also omitted from the 30-man squad selected to participate in a three-week high performance camp in St Lucia in preparation for the two-Test series against South Africa starting on June 10 in the Caribbean.
Hetmyer has a total of 86 T20 matches under his belt with 1669 runs at an average of 25.67. He has a career strike-rate of 132.88 with one century and nine half-centuries. He recently featured in the IPL for Capitals where he displayed form with the bat.
The sixth edition of the PSL was suspended in March after 14 games, when seven individuals, including six players, tested positive for COVID-19.
“There was a consensus between the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] and the franchises that it was imperative to complete the remaining matches in 2021 so that we have a clean 2022 for PSL 7,” PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said in a statement.
“Our priority was always to deliver the complete tournament in Pakistan. However, due to extenuating circumstances, we had to shift from that thinking for the remaining matches,” Khan added.
The move follows the Indian cricket board’s decision to complete this year’s IPL in the United Arab Emirates after a devastating second wave of COVID-19 in India suspended the tournament last month.
The PSL will resume with Lahore Qalandars taking on Islamabad United in the 15th game of the tournament.
