Shimron Hetmyer landed in Kolkata less than 24 hours before West Indies opened their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. By then, the rest of the squad had already trained together and played a warm-up in Bengaluru, while Hetmyer was delayed by what the team described as a "minor visa issue".
Unconfirmed reports suggested the delay was because the passport he carried to South Africa did not contain his India visa. For most, it would have been a small logistical issue, but for Hetmyer, it reopened an old chapter.
In 2022, Hetmyer was dropped from the T20 World Cup squad after he missed two flights to Australia ahead of a bilateral series that preceded the global tournament. Cricket West Indies at the time said that "actions have consequences". The episode has lingered since, colouring perceptions of his commitment, particularly for a player whose T20 value stretches across leagues worldwide.
So when Hetmyer walked in at No. 3 against Scotland at Eden Gardens, with West Indies sliding from 54 for no loss to 58 for 2 in the ninth over, the innings carried added significance. The run rate hovered around six, the middle overs were threatening to drift, and Scotland had the opportunity to take the upper hand with just one more wicket.
He was welcomed with spin, and why not? Across 2023 and 2024, Hetmyer had been slowed down by spin, averaging 19.92 at a strike rate of 121.3 against it, but in 2025, he addressed that weakness head-on. His strike rate against spin jumped to 162.44 and his average to 39.94, effectively removing the most obvious tactic teams had used against him. The plan simply did not work.
Hetmyer began decisively, as he often does when playing as a finisher, taking on debutant left-arm spinner Oliver Davidson. He stepped into the line and drilled Davidson straight over long-off. Michael Leask followed, his part-time offspin sent flat and hard over wide long-on.
When Scotland turned to Mark Watt, their most reliable spinner, Hetmyer struck consecutive sixes - first over midwicket, then over deep-backward square. Safyaan Sharif brought his pace to try to cramp him for room; he was swivel-pulled over deep square leg. When Sharif pushed it wider, Hetmyer extended his arms and drove him cleanly over covers. Davidson returned in the 14th over and tried to keep the ball away. Hetmyer waited and lifted him over extra cover to bring up a 22-ball fifty, the fastest by a West Indian in men's T20 World Cups.
By the time Brandon McMullen produced a full-stretch catch at deep midwicket to dismiss Hetmyer in the 19th over, he had ensured West Indies would finish north of 180. Only two fours came off Hetmyer's bat, but he pumped six sixes in his 36-ball 64.
The innings also underlined why West Indies have returned to Hetmyer at No. 3, a position that needed filling with a high-impact cricketer in the last 12 months. Captain Shai Hope explained the thinking, alluding to the absence of a batter of Nicholas Pooran's repute from international cricket, without directly naming him. He also said the boys in the dressing room challenged Hetmyer to own that role, given his decade-long experience.
"Hetmyer has just hit his fourth consecutive 40-plus score, so he is hitting form at the right time," Hope said. "Good to see him playing free, in his way, and scoring runs for the team. The reality is that we had a very destructive left-hander at No. 3 last time. I won't necessarily call it like-for-like - they're different players - but we just wanted someone to take responsibility up top, more so as a left-hander.
"A lot of these teams have a left-arm spinner or a leggie in the powerplay or just outside. Having him there makes us more dangerous as a batting line-up. He's a game changer. He can impact the game in many ways."
Hetmyer himself sees the move as a return rather than a shift. After debuting in T20Is in 2016, he batted regularly at No. 3 in the CPL from 2018 to 2021, before being recast as a finisher as his international role evolved. But with two games mid-2025 against Australia, and the last two games against South Africa earlier this year, where he scored 75 and an unbeaten 48, he moved up to one-down.
"It's fun," Hetmyer said of batting at No. 3. "It's something I used to do in the beginning, but playing more T20s, finishing is also fun for me. But if I have to choose, I'll choose to stay up top.
"Batting at No. 3, the ball moves a bit more and comes onto you faster compared to Nos. 5 or 6. So it's about getting into position as early as possible and executing."
Hetmyer's contribution went beyond the bat. In the sixth over of Scotland's chase, George Munsey pulled hard, only for Hetmyer at deep square leg to fly sideways and complete a one-handed catch, his body briefly parallel to the turf. All ten team-mates converged near the boundary in celebration as the crowd of 12,000 were recovering from a collective gasp that engulfed the ground.
"The catch gave me more joy because I've been working on my fielding," Hetmyer said. "I didn't get any chances to take catches in South Africa. It's up there among my best catches."
If his delayed arrival had threatened to be a distraction, Hetmyer was keen to move past it. Head coach coach Daren Sammy has already said that he's expecting a Player-of-the-Tournament-worthy month for Hetmyer, and the batter is himself manifesting a finals appearance.
"Everything happens for a reason," Hetmyer said. "Not really complaining. When I got here, it was just to focus, put that behind, and focus on the game ahead and on my batting. So that I can give our bowlers a good score or chase totals down."
"We can be more than competitive. We can go as far as the finals. But we don't want to think too far ahead. Just looking to execute our plans for each game."