Tom Moody is the former head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad. That is not stopping him from making a statement that could actually be productive for another team. In a recent media interaction, Moody said that Shimron Hetmyer should be promoted to the top order instead of coming down the lineup.
Moody demanded that Rajasthan Royals alter their batting order against Delhi Capitals in the TATA IPL 2023, describing him as a “complete batter.” In the previous edition, Hetmyer was acquired by RR for 8.5 crore. The investment was worthwhile, as he was instrumental in RR’s run to the final, where they were defeated by the Gujarat Titans, led by Hardik Pandya.
Hetmyer was sent to the 7th position for batting, way after Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Butler. He has played ODIs for the West Indies, scoring some pretty good runs. The same has to be replicated in the TATA IPL 2023.
This comes to light after RR lost to PBKS while chasing the target of 198. The team fell short by 5 runs with three wickets in hand. Hetmyer scored 36 runs off 18 balls with a single grounded boundary and three in-the-air boundaries.
The optimal batting order for Hetmyer would place him in the third or fourth spot.
The top order was fantastic against SRH, with all of them completing their half-centuries. The middle order trembled; otherwise, the score could have been a little higher. Needless to say, the net run rate would have been better on the leaderboard, where RR is currently in the 4th position with a positive NRR of 1.675.
He needs to be out there following the wake of Sanju Samson and Jos Butler, said Moody.
The opener was a stunner, with RR clinching victory against SRH by a wide margin of 72 runs.
Hetmyer was sent to the sixth position, where he scored 22 runs off 16 balls. Remaining unbeaten, Hetmyer reached the said mark with a single four and a single six. Agreed, cricket betting sites consider a lot of factors when drafting their odds, but a batting lineup with Hetmyer in the top order has a lot of potential to turn the tables on their side.
Imagine Hetmyer not falling short in the previous match against PBKS. Shahrukh Khan did hit the wicket for a run-out. A little better timing would have saved Hetmyer and the match for RR. A power hitter like him has done it for the West Indies with a lot of centuries. Moody looks confident that it can be done for RR as well.
Chasing big targets requires power shots right from the beginning, and the intention to set the bigger target also needs someone like Hetmyer to go up the batting order.
It remains to be seen if RR will listen and make amends before meeting DC on April 8, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. IST, at Barsapara Stadium.
