New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody opined that Rajasthan Royals' (RR) middle order batter Shimron Hetmyer isn't just a finisher but is also capable of batting in the top order in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

In Sunday's match against defending champions Gujarat Titans, while chasing a challenging 178 for victory, the Royals got off to a slow start and found themselves struggling at 66/4 in 12 overs.

Then, Hetmyer smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls and with some help from his captain Sanju Samson (60), successfully chased down the target with four balls to spare.

"I hate the word finisher because Shimron Hetmyer is more than that. He is a proper batsman and I'm not saying that people who are recognized as finishers aren't proper batsmen, but Hetmyer is a top-order batter. He is not a middle-order batter in other formats of the game," said Moody while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.

The former cricketer further noted that Hetmyer has had considerable success batting at no.3 for the West Indies in international cricket. He further stated that although Rajasthan has mostly employed him as a lower-order batsman, Hetmyer has the ability to perform exceptionally well in any batting position.

"He's cut his teeth at No.3 for West Indies. His role in this side is more at the backend of the innings and therefore he gets labelled as a finisher. But as we've seen tonight and on other occasions, he is more than just a person who can hit the ball out of the ground."

Speaking about Hetmyer's innings against Titans, Moody said: "It's never easy against that quality bowling. He just remained cool throughout. There was no sort of panic there and no sort of sense when you were watching it that he was feeling panicked."

The West Indian has scored 183 runs in five innings at a stunning strike rate of 184.45 with the best score of 56 not out. He has got dismissed just once so far in the 2023 IPL.