West Indies Cricketer Kieron Pollard Bids Farewell To International Cricket

Bringing the curtains down on a career spanning for 15 long years, West Indies cricketer Kieron Pollard has announced his retirement from international Cricket on April 20th (Wednesday).

It may be mentioned here that Pollard is currently playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

In a lengthy post on his social media handle, the 34-year-old cricketer thanked his fans, supporters, family members and the West Indies Cricket board for helping him in his journey. They said that they will always be available to support his national side in whatever way they can.

“As is the case for many young people, it was a dream of mine to represent the West Indies team from the time I was a boy of 10 years and I am proud to have represented the West Indies Cricket for over 15 years in both the T20I and ODI formats of the game. I can still vividly remember making my international debut in 2007 under my childhood Hero, Brian Lara. Wearing those maroon colors and playing alongside such greats has been a Privilege that I never took lightly, giving my heart and soul every facet of the game – whether Bowling, batting or Fieldin, ”he wrote in the post.

The West Indies cricketer also thanked his players and teammates for supporting him in his 15-year-long career and making his journey more “enjoyable and rewarding” as wished them all the best for the future.

“I am Grateful to the various selectors, management teams and in particular, Coach Phil Simmons for seeing the potential in me and for the faith they steadfastly had in me throughout my career. This and the confidence Cricket West Indies showed in me was particularly reassuring as I stepped up to take on the challenge of leading the team. I wish to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the President of the CWI, Mr. Ricky Skerritt, for his unwavering support and encouragement especially during my time as Captain, ”they said.

Pollard is a feared T20 cricketer. However, his numbers for the West Indies remain underwhelming with only 2,706 runs at just above 26 and 55 wickets from 123 ODIs along with 1,569 runs from 101 T20Is at an average of shade over 25. He also took 44 wickets.

It may be recalled here that Pollard hit 6 sixes of Akila Dananjaya in a T20I. He was also a part of the 2012 ICC T20 World Cup winning the West Indies Squad. However, he never played Test Cricket.