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IPL 2020 auction: This player has sent out strong message to captain Virat Kohli, RCB

Ahead of the IPL 2020 players auction, a batsman has sent out a strong message to Royal Challengers (RCB) and their captain Virat Kohli

IPL 2020 auction This player has sent out strong message to captain Virat Kohli RCB
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Bengaluru, First Published Dec 16, 2019, 11:46 AM IST

Bengaluru: This Thursday (December 19), the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 players’ auction will be held in Kolkata. As many as 332 players will go under the hammer with Australians and West Indians likely to dominate. There is one player from the Caribbean islands who is sending a strong message to his former IPL franchise ahead of the big day.

The batsman we are talking about is Shimron Hetmyer, who registered his highest ODI score and helped West Indies win against India in Chennai on Sunday (December 15). The left-hander hit 139 off 106 balls with 11 fours and seven sixes as his team successfully chased down 288 to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

Also read: Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting picks big money players ahead of auction

“This is my highest score in international cricket, so this would be the best one. It's always nice chasing a score than a setting one. Chasing and taking the team home is a much better feeling. Sad that I didn't finish the game, but it's a work in progress for me,” was Hetmyer’s reaction after the match at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Hetmyer, one of the talented batsmen to emerge on the international stage, with his century in Chennai, has grabbed huge attention ahead of the IPL auction. Last year, he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) without much success. He was picked in five matches and scored a total of 90 runs.

IPL 2020 auction This player has sent out strong message to captain Virat Kohli RCB

Last month, RCB released 12 players including the 22-year-old Hetmyer. He was among the seven overseas cricketers who were not retained by the Virat Kohli-led franchise. Colin de Grandhomme, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klassen, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim Southee were the others.

In the IPL 2019 players auction, Hetmyer was bought for Rs 4.2 crore. After signing up for the Bengaluru side, he had tweeted on December 18, 2018, “Thanks a lot to the guys at @RCBTweets for picking me up in the @IPL auction for 2019... Can’t wait to join u guys #PlayBold.”

The excitement and the journey with the RCB side have ended after just one season. However, there is still a possibility of the team using Right to Match (RTM) option at the auction table to bring back the Guyanese.

Hetmyer admitted that he did not have a good season of IPL last year and he wanted to put that behind him. “To me it's about enjoying my batting, it's cricket, sometimes you score runs and sometimes you don't. Didn't have the best IPL (2019 season), it's a nice experience, it always helps you to come back much stronger from there. I just try as much as possible to put that behind me.”

RCB go into the auction with a purse of Rs 57.10 crore and 12 slots to fill including six overseas.

Will they pick Hetmyer again?

IPL 2020 auction This player has sent out strong message to captain Virat Kohli RCB

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