Shimron Hetmyer's CPL Form Shows Why Rajasthan Royals Should Rethink His Role in IPL 2027

Shimron Hetmyer endured a tough IPL 2026. Image Credits: AFPShimron Hetmyer has had a mixed year in T20s. He has been consistent for the most part, including for his international side, the West Indies, and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).However, his performances dwindled in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Major League Cricket (MLC). In the IPL, in particular, Hetmyer’s poor run was more noticeable, given he had just enjoyed a fabulous T20 World Cup 2026.Shimron Hetmyer’s mixed T20 performances in 2026Shimron Hetmyer batting numbers in T20s in 2026Overall, Shimron Hetmyer has 1073 runs at an average of 30.65 and a strike rate of 167.13 in 43 T20 innings this year. He also has four fifties and a century.For West Indies, Hetmyer has 566 runs at an average of 40.42 and a strike rate of 180.83 in 16 outings, with three fifties. Meanwhile, for Guyana Amazon Warriors, he has 265 runs at an average of 37.85 and a strike rate of 189.28 in 10 outings.His performances in these two teams have been reasonably good, but he hasn’t carried the same form in the IPL and MLC. Playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Hetmyer could only accumulate 78 runs at an abysmal average of 13 and a strike rate of 113.04 in seven innings.Also Read: Shimron Hetmyer Creates World Record In CPL With Fastest 100He was also dropped midway through the season to accommodate all-rounders like Dasun Shanaka since his performances didn’t improve. The surfaces were mostly flat, but Hetmyer remained scratchy throughout the tournament.In MLC, meanwhile, he was again below par, even if not as bad as in the IPL. Across 10 outings, the southpaw scored 164 runs at an average of 20.50 and a strike rate of 136.66, with a solitary fifty. These numbers would have been even worse had he not scored an unbeaten 79* in one of the early matches in the competition.What went wrong for Hetmyer in the IPL?Shimron Hetmyer's performance by batting position in IPL 2026A major reason Shimron Hetmyer failed to make a significant impact in IPL 2026 was his batting position. At Rajasthan Royals, he was pushed outside the top three, a role he has played regularly over the years but not in recent times. Coming into the IPL, Hetmyer had batted at No.3 for the West Indies throughout and found considerable success there.However, once he was asked to move down the order again, he struggled to adjust at short notice. Five of his six innings came at No.5 or below, where he looked completely out of touch. Notably, he faced only 12.20 balls on average in those positions.RR had one of the strongest top fours in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel, and Riyan Parag this time around. They did most of the heavy lifting, leaving little time for the batters lower down the order to settle. All Hetmyer could afford to do was attack from the first ball, something he struggled to do consistently.The impact of his changed role was evident in how he found it tricky to get going with a spread field and fewer balls left in the innings. That contrasts sharply with his performances in the CPL, where he has once again thrived after finding a settled role at No.4.Hetmyer now specialises in building longer innings by taking his time initially before targeting spin in the middle overs. In the IPL, however, he was largely forced to face pace, with around 81.15% of his deliveries coming against fast bowlers. And whenever he got an opportunity to arrive earlier in the innings, he failed to make the most of it.Adjusting from the top order to the middle or lower order is one of the toughest challenges in T20 cricket, given how quickly the game moves. That challenge ultimately worked against Hetmyer in IPL 2026. Despite coming into the tournament in tremendous form, RR were unable to extract the best from him. Had Hetmyer contributed more, the Royals could have gone even further this season.What’s the future for Shimron Hetmyer in the IPL?Shimron Hetmyer is still too good a player to leave out. Despite his middling IPL returns, Rajasthan Royals might be tempted to retain him ahead of the next season, especially with the options at the auction unlikely to be particularly strong.However, RR will need to use him better if they are to extract greater value from him. After his recent progress as a No.3 batter, Hetmyer is unlikely to thrive as a pace-hitter in the lower order. He needs to be promoted up the order from IPL 2027.RR have a straightforward way to make that happen: move Dhruv Jurel down to No.5, below Riyan Parag, and open up the No.3 spot for Hetmyer. Jurel has struggled against good lengths from spin and can often get stuck against slow bowlers. His strength in white-ball cricket, meanwhile, has always been his ability to attack pace. Batting at No.5 would naturally give him more opportunities to face fast bowlers.Hetmyer, on the other hand, is a formidable player of spin and could fit nicely at No.3. He has a strike rate of 179.92 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 4.31 against spin this year, underlining how well suited he is to taking on slow bowlers in the middle overs.However, if RR decide to keep their current top four intact, they might be better off releasing Hetmyer rather than continuing to use him as a pace-hitter in the lower order. They already have Donovan Ferreira for that role, while Ravindra Jadeja also occupies a spot now.Several other teams could look to acquire Hetmyer, either through a trade or at the auction. Gujarat Titans, for instance, could use a batter of his profile. Glenn Phillips hasn’t produced enough consistently, while Tom Banton did not even get an opportunity last season. GT also experimented with Washington Sundar in the upper middle order but could benefit from having Hetmyer in the mix.Delhi Capitals could be another potential destination. They will need alternatives to Nitish Rana and Karun Nair, who have struggled for consistency, while Abishek Porel’s availability remains uncertain and Ben Duckett is ineligible. Hetmyer could offer them a flexible option in either the top or middle order while also bringing the variety of a left-handed batter.For RR, it ultimately comes down to whether they are willing to sacrifice Jurel’s position to get the best out of Hetmyer. Given the form he is in and what he has shown as a top-order batter, it could be a risk worth taking in IPL 2027. And if the experiment fails, RR can always move on from Hetmyer before the next mega auction.Also Read: Sanju Samson's Name Pushed For CSK Captaincy For IPL 2027