Ravichandran Ashwin hailed Shimron Hetmyer as one of Delhi Capitals’ “heroes” after the Guyanese batsman led them to a three-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday which helped them take the top spot on the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) standings. DC have 20 points on the board and Ashwin said that about six to eight of them should go to Hetmyer alone.
Ashwin was sent in ahead of Hetmyer in the match but ended being dismissed by Shardul Thakur for just two runs. He said that there was confidence in his batting abilities considering the unbeaten 20 he made to lead CSK to victory alongwith Shreyas Iyer against Mumbai Indians in the previous game but he wasn’t expecting the delivery that Thakur bowled which got him dismissed.
“I have been batting well ever since I came from England and there was a lot of confidence from what happened in the last game. I think I was not ready for the ball and a little late on it, didn’t expect that sort of delivery from him. I could have done better and I’ll learn and move on,” he said.
Ashwin has taken just five wickets this season but he is not worried about his form with the ball. “There are 24 deliveries that I am allowed to bowl. I have kept on repeating this, to look for wickets is not something you can do all the time in T20s, you have to bowl according to the situation. My job is to bowl to the best of my abilities in those 24 balls and create wicket-taking abilities. Sometimes I feel it is too lopsided, you can’t put a short leg or a slip; you can’t look to attack and get a wicket so, the way the ball is coming and the way I am bowling, I am extremely satisfied and happy,” he said.
