Shimron Hetmyer can take West Indies cricket forward: Kieron Pollard

West Indies limited-overs skipper Kieron Pollard wants to see star batsman Shimron Hetmyer dominate across all formats in international cricket. However, Pollard feels the southpaw has to work harder to gain the confidence of the selectors.

Hetmyer has not consistently featured in the last year due to injury concerns and he even opted out of the Bangladesh tour earlier this year. Since making his debut in 2017, the 24-year-old has played only 16 Tests, 45 ODIs, and 27 T20Is for the West Indies.

During an interaction on the Line & Length TV Show on Sportsmax, Kieron Pollard stated that Hetmyer is the player who will take West Indies cricket forward.

“We love Hetty. He is a young, talented cricketer. He is a guy who we know, deep in our hearts, can take West Indies cricket forward from a generational point of view with his skill and what he can achieve on a cricket field,” said Kieron Pollard.

“He knows the truth and he knows what it is. We would love Hetty to be playing all three formats, but as the saying goes, ‘You can only take the horse to the water, but you can’t force him to drink.’ With that being said, I will leave it right there and for the individual to get things together," said Kieron Pollard.

No central contract for Shimron Hetmyer from West Indies Cricket Board for the 2021-22 season.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 7, 2021

Speaking about Hetmyer's performances across the different formats of the game, Pollard said:

“He has a fantastic record in ODI cricket. We saw what he can do in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it’s just for him to take what’s in front of him. The world is at his feet."

Over the last year, Shimron Hetmyer has managed only 100 runs from five innings in T20Is and 14 runs in two ODIs. The Men in Maroon play South Africa in a five-match T20I series starting June 26. Pollard warned that the West Indies will have to be at their best to beat a very talented South African side.

“We have to plan properly in order to conquer. I'm not looking too much into the names (of the opposition) because as I said before these guys are talented in their own right as they would have not been selected for their national teams (otherwise),” said Kieron Pollard.

West Indies have announced their provisional T20I squad 🏏Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer have been featured, with WI scheduled to play South Africa, Australia and Pakistan this summer pic.twitter.com/9EK9NlLHuh

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 18, 2021