Guyana Amazon Warriors’ all-rounder Romario Shepherd was the buzz of this year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) competition and a lot of this improvement came from his thought process.
This was revealed by the 26-year-old during an exclusive interview with this publication recently.
“The thinking process of the game. I think I read the game better now so I’m a bit more proactive about my bowling now,” he told Stabroek Sports in the exclusive when asked about the transformation.
“I am more mature now so I know what skills to try at what time,” he added.
Shepherd ended with 18 wickets in the competition, joint second with teammate Oden Smith and only to Trinbago Knight Riders’ Ravi Rampaul who ended with 19 wickets.
But it was not just his bowling that stood out this season. The right-hander played an inspiring innings in the final group match to ensure his team a spot in the semi-final.
“I didn’t even realize I was doing so well I was so focussed on hitting the ball,” he said.
“Until the end of the game Darren [Bravo] said to me before the interview starts, I got 72 of just 31, I was like what just 31 balls,” he revealed.
“When I walked out to bat, I just wanted to be there to the 18th over and we would have some score over 100 but then I had to fight through two blows to the head and show my character to stand up and fight for the team and myself,” he added.
Even with that innings, Shepherd related that it was his successful Super Over against Knight Riders that was the highlight of his tournament.
Shepherd reasoned, “I think all of my teammates had belief in me that I could defend six runs. There and then at the top of my mark, [Nicholas] Pooran told me we have two plans here, wide or straight yorkers and he let me decide what to bowl first and I went straight the first ball and got the wicket, the rest was history.
Summarizing the entire tournament Shepherd reckoned, “It was a great tournament for me. This tournament I was so excited and eager to do well because I had put in so much work on my game before the tournament started,” he said.
The West Indies all-rounder disclosed that he had set his goals for the tournament but despite his outstanding efforts, he fell short of his goals. Shepherd noted that it was an inspirational call from his captain, Pooran that had set the tone for his season.
“Before the tournament got started, Skip called me and he wanted this to be my breakout year in CPL. He said all the years before I was doing good, he wanted me to be great this year he will give me opportunities with the bat and I have to bowl all his tough overs in the Powerplay and in the death,” he said.
Shepherd was named in the CPL team of the tournament.
