Did West Indies miss a trick by leaving Pollard out of World Cup squad?
In 2016, Kieron Pollard was dropped from the West Indies team; an ODI fixture against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi being his last outing in national colours.
Published : Apr 26, 2019 16:13 IST
Kieron Pollard, who is not part of the West Indies 15-member squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, has been in scintillating form with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
The Caribbean hard-hitter has 195 runs from 10 matches so far at a strike-rate of 175.67. He has hammered 18 sixes and seven fours in the league with a highest score of 83 which came in his maiden IPL game as captain.
Pollard's 31-ball blitz against the Kings XI Punjab, studded with 10 maximums and three fours, had propelled Mumbai to an unlikely win.
In 2016, the Trinidadian was dropped from the West Indies team; an ODI fixture against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi being his last outing in national colours. Three years later, Pollard continues to find himself on the sidelines.
West Indies' recent ODI record isn't promising — it has won only five of its last 14 games in the past one year — and while it boasts of power hitters in Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite and Nicholas Pooran, Pollard's inclusion in the team would have perhaps strengthened the team's case for a crack at the marquee title.
World Cup Squad: Jason Holder (C), Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer |