Shimron Hetmyer credits Brian Lara as inspiration for Guwahati ton

Shimron Hetmyer magnificent 106 off 78 balls in the Guwahati ODI against India on Sunday was the only bright spot for the West Indies following their disastrous eight-wicket loss to Virat Kohli’s side.

What an inn by #Hetmyer..he is gonna be a next million dollar baby in the @IPL 2019 #INDvsWI 1st ODI

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 21, 2018

The 19-year-old left-hander’s batting drew praise from cricket experts and some compared his batting to legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara. Hetmyer admitted that he did look up to Brian Lara as an inspiration when he started playing cricket. 

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“I did look up to Brian Lara when I used to watch cricket, but most of it (shots) comes naturally to me. I am a natural stroke-player and try to play each ball on merit. I have spoken to a few legends in the past, they are quite fun actually, easy,” Hetmyer said in an interview to PTI during the training session ahead of the second ODI in Vizag on Wednesday.

Lara is considered to be one of the best batsman from the West Indies, amassing 11953 runs at an average of 52.88 and 10405 runs with an average of over 40. Nicknamed the Prince of Trinidad, Lara holds the record for the highest individual score in Test and First-Class cricket with 400 and 501 respectively. 

Bad Test series

Hetmyer’s knock in Guwahati, his third century in 13 games, was the perfect response to criticism following a poor Test series in which he scored just 50 runs in four innings. The youngster credited the support of his team-mates who urged him to move forward. 

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“I had a bad Test series, it was not one of the best ways to start a series in India but from there on I tried to forget about that as much as possible and the senior guys helped. They said don't worry,” Hetmyer said.

Shimron Hetmyer is one of the world’s most exciting talents. His ability has been apparent for a while & was reaffirmed in his stunning CPL but this innings (as with his ODI century v Bangladesh) has displayed temperament to suggest he can become a consistent player. #INDvWI

— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) October 21, 2018

With the left-hander showing plenty of skill in the limited-overs format, India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has said Hetmyer could be a huge attraction in the upcoming IPL auctions in 2019.