Excited to get going for Royals: Rajasthan Royals' Shimron Hetmyer

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 19 (ANI): After playing a high-impact Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2021 for Delhi Capitals, Shimron Hetmyer is now a part of the Rajasthan Royals.
The West Indian batter, expressing excitement about playing for his third IPL franchise in the tournament said, "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."
"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," added the 25-year-old.
Recalling his initial IPL days and U-19 World Cup win as a captain in 2016, he 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.
Hetmyer, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 8.5 Crore, said that he feels no pressure from the price tag, and added that it's important for him to play whatever role the team wants.
"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.
Referring to his potential role in the team, he added, "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 Guyanese left-hander talks highly about Royals coach Kumar Sangakkara's leadership and added that the new squad has the potential to win IPL this year, he said, "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." (ANI)