Rajasthan Royals' 25-year-old middle-order batter Shimron Hetmyer has left the Indian Premier League bio-bubble for the birth of his child, but the left-hand batter has indicated that he will return to again be part of the team's campaign in IPL 2022.
In an early-morning tweet on Sunday, the Royals said that, "Shimron Hetmyer has travelled back to Guyana for the imminent birth of his first child. We are helping him in every way we can, and our best wishes are with him and his wife Nirvani.
"We look forward to Shimron then returning to Mumbai, and resuming duties at the Royals for the remainder of our matches in IPL 2022. All the best, Hettie. We can't wait to have you back, this time as a father!"
Hetmyer too indicated that he will be back soon when he posted a video in which he said, "Hettie here! Babies are born only once and this will be my first."
He then pointed toward his hotel room and said, "My stuff is still left in the room. It's only because of a special emergency that I am leaving. Don't miss me too much. See you soon."
On Saturday against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede, Hetmyer played a key role in the Royals overhauling a competitive 189-run total, winning the match by six wickets with two balls to spare. The West Indian was the more aggressive in his partnership with Devdutt Padikkal, striking an unbeaten 31 off 16 balls embellished with three boundaries and two sixes.
Thanks to the win, the Royals have moved up to third place and would be hoping to make the playoffs, set to begin on May 24.
The West Indian has scored 291 runs and average 72. Hetmyer has remained unbeaten in seven of the 11 innings he has played this season. The hard-hitter is among the top-five most destructive finishers this season with a strike rate of 214.28, according to espncricinfo.com.
Royals, who have three league games remaining to make the playoffs, will take on Delhi Capitals on May 11 and James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Daryl Mitchell and Rassie van der Dussen are among those likely to fill the slot left vacant by Hetmyer.