Kieron Pollard, who has become the first player to play 400 Twenty20 matches, on Monday, said that he celebrated the milestone by wearing the Mumbai Indians (MI) jersey with that number, in the IPL lung opener on Saturday.
Pollard has so far played 414 T20 games, in which he has scored 8,048 runs, with highest being 89 not out and has also taken 251 wickets. Pollard’s fellow-West Indian all rounder Dwayne Bravo also donned the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) jersey with no. 400 on it. in the IPL lung-opener, to celebrate his own landmark of 400 wickets in T20 games.
“It is just something that Bravo and I came up with. He is the first bowler in T20 cricket to take 400 wickets, and I am the only player so far to play 400 matches. At the young age of 30, being able to play 400 matches, I think that in itself is a milestone in a format, (in which) none of us thought how much we would end up playing when we started our career in cricket. That was the reason (to wear those jerseys),” Pollard told reporters here.
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Pollard was speaking after launching ‘AlphaBounce Beyond’, a running footwear by adidas, in presence of MI skipper Rohit Sharma. “As he (Bravo) has said, in the next couple of games, we are going back to our original numbers - that is 47 and 55,” he said.
The Trinidadian also said that the feeling in the MI dressing room was one of confidence in spite if the one-wicket defeat in the league opener. “I think the feeling is of confidence. There are a lot of young and exciting guys in that dressing room. I think that is what excites us the most as senior players, who have been around for a while - the enthusiasm of the younger guys, that push to go ahead and compete with them.”
“As you can see, in the first game, the young guys really pushed us although we did not get over the line. Watching them perform, such as the young Ishan (Kishan), Mayank (Markande) and the Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal) as well, it shows that we have the enthusiasm. It is just a matter of building from there and hopefully change the momentum in the next game,” 30-year-old West Indian said.
He expressed hope that the defending champions would bounce back in the next game. “I am sure, it was just the first game. These things happen in cricket. You try to get the best combinations first-up and as Rohit said, we tend to start slow. In T20 cricket, in a new team, new faces, guys have to get accustomed to each other. Hopefully we will bounce back and you will see me bowl and bat, along with lot many other things,” he signed off.
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