Named after football legend Romario, Shepherd recalled his earliest cricketing memories when he had to improvise with whatever was available, according to an RCB press release.
“I used to play cricket in a small space in my yard. Sometimes we would make a ball out of wood or use coconut branches to make the bat,” he recalled. “Whenever the ball hit your shin, there was no pad because we were barefoot, so you had to defend your foot.”
His journey into organized cricket began during his school years. Notably, he wasn’t always the devastating six-hitter he’s known as today.
“The first game I played, I scored 129 runs and batted without a six in 40 overs. I wasn’t a big hitter then. All I knew was to find the gap.”
As Shepherd progressed through age-group cricket, his role gradually evolved into that of a versatile player inspired by one of the West Indies’ modern greats.
“Whenever you listened to the radio, there was always one name you heard doing everything, batting, bowling and fielding, and that was Dwayne Bravo,” Shepherd said. “I wanted to be like that guy.”
His breakthrough in white-ball cricket came during the 2018 Caribbean Premier League, where his performances quickly began to attract attention.
“2018 was when people started taking my white-ball cricket seriously,” Shepherd said. “I started doing a lot of yorkers and hitting the ball, and commentators like Ian Bishop were saying there’s something about the kid.”
One of the moments that stood out this season came when he was confronted by his childhood inspiration.
“The first ball I faced was from Devin Bravo and I hit it into the crowd for six,” Shepherd said. “It was huge for me because he was someone I looked up to.”
Sheppard’s journey eventually brought him to the IPL and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“When I was watching cricket growing up, RCB was always one of the teams to support the West Indians because Chris Gayle was in that team,” Shepherd said.
Reflecting on his time with the franchise, Shepherd spoke of the strong atmosphere within the dressing room.
“Everybody knows TD (Tim David) is my man. Salt, Bethel, even VK, I didn’t know he was that funny,” Shepherd said with a smile. “You see Virat Kohli on the cricket field, and he’s very fast, but off the field, he’s actually a very funny guy.”
He also highlighted the influence of senior players and the positive atmosphere within the squad.
“These guys make me happy, especially when you’re away from home for so long,” Shepherd said. “It’s an incredible group of guys, both on and off the cricket field. It’s great for RCB to have senior players in the same dressing room with young players.”
For Shepherd, representing RCB comes with a unique global connection with the fans.
“RCB gave me an opportunity to go out there and represent one of the biggest franchises in the IPL,” he said. “It changes the way people follow you.”
“Even when I’m playing for the West Indies in other parts of the world, people are chanting ‘RCB, RCB’,” Shepherd added. “When you step out to represent RCB, you realize it’s more than just a franchise. It feels like a family.”
