Shepherd says primary focus is on clinching Betway T20I series

…IPL auction is secondary

By Brandon Corlette in Barbados

The humility of Romario Shepherd continues to amaze. While many young West Indian players are focused on the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) draft that is set for February 13-14, this Guyanese resident of New Amsterdam in East Berbice is more focused on the task at hand: to defeat England in the five-match T20I Betway series ongoing in Barbados.

Fresh from scoring his career best T20I score of 44 not out, and having had some months of success with the bat, especially in different tournaments and series, Shepherd has said: “I try to focus on what is at hand right now, and try to put my all there. And if an IPL contract comes, that would be good for me. (I’m) not saying I do not think about it, but I try to focus on whatever the game (situation) is.”
This all-rounder, who has thrown his name in the IPL draft for the past three years but is yet to make an appearance there, has described that global showpiece as a great platform.
“For every youngster, it is a dream to go to the IPL. For me, it is no different. I try to get myself in there as well, and at the same time win a series here. It is something I (have) dreamed about for a really long time. My name was in the draft for the last three years, so, this year, I am looking forward for it,” (to be drafted) Shepherd told media operatives on Monday.
Reflecting on his scorching knock, Shepherd has said he was instructed to take a few balls to get settled, since the ball was spinning. He was on the back foot initially, but he launched rockets to all parts of the Oval. He struck five massive sixes, which certainly got the fans on their feet.
Sharing his sentiments on the presence of fans at Kensington, which included some Guyanese nationals, Shepherd said: “It is like something new again. When COVID-19 came, we played in the empty stands, and that was new for us. Now fans are back in, it is something new again, and we need to adjust. It was a decent crowd. It was a good atmosphere to go out there and perform.”
While most of the English batters targeted the smaller boundaries at Kensington, Shepherd, unfazed, trusted his power and skill. The driven 27-year-old has said the match against England on Sunday, and the way Akeal Hosein batted, is a big confidence-booster for the team.
“Last night was one of the games that we lost, but we improved in our batting at the back end, and we showed how well we can bat and get ourselves out of a situation from nowhere. We need to focus more on the powerplay and middle phase,” he declared.
A big talking point that emerged from the second T20I was the wide that was not called by the umpire. Speaking on that hot topic, Shepherd said: “I told Akeal not to worry about it. The umpire missed that one there. He is just human, so hopefully he can correct his mistake in the coming games. I think that was a wide, and he did not think so. That was his opinion on the wide ball, and he did not call it.”
Shepherd also described the West Indies’ fielding in the second T20I as poor.
With the five-match series locked at 1-1, a confident West Indies unit would play a spirited England side on Wednesday, January 26, from 16:00h Eastern Caribbean time.