The Royal Challengers Bengaluru`s (RCB) star all-rounder Romario Shepherd recalled his journey from playing cricket in Guyana to representing one of the biggest franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
He revealed that back then, he, along with his friends, used to shape a wooden piece into a ball and use coconut branches as a willow.
“I used to play cricket in a small opening in my yard. Sometimes we made the ball with wood or used coconut branches to make a bat. Whenever the ball hit your shin, there were no pads because we were barefoot, so you had to defend your foot,” he said.
A batsman now known for towering maximums was once a player trying to find gaps while batting.
“In the first game I played, I scored 129 and batted through the 40 overs, with no sixes. At that time, I was not a big hitter. All I knew was to find the gaps,” said the 31-year-old cricketer.
Shepherd then said that he aspired to become like former West Indies cricketer Dwayne Bravo.
“Whenever you listened to the radio, there was always one name you heard doing everything, batting, bowling and fielding, and that was Dwayne Bravo. I wanted to be like that guy,” he said.
His breakthrough in white-ball cricket came in 2018 during the Caribbean Premier League, where his performances quickly began drawing attention.
“2018 is when people started taking my white-ball cricket seriously. I started bowling a lot of yorkers and hitting the ball, and commentators like Ian Bishop were saying this kid has something about him,” he said.
The burly all-rounder then recollected the moment when he smashed a maximum to his childhood hero, Bravo.
“The first ball I faced was from Dwayne Bravo and I hit it for six ways back in the crowd. That was big for me because he was someone I looked up to,” said Shepherd.
In the IPL 2026, the Rajat Patidar-led RCB is placed in third position on the points table. So far, the side has secured victories in as many games, and has a net run rate (NRR) of +2.501 and four points.
IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals: Date and venue
Patidar and Co. will now lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 10 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.
(With ANI Inputs)
