Aditya ChaudhuriThe West Indies’ limited-overs skipper Kieron Pollard has announced his retirement from international cricket. Pollard announced the decision to call time on his 15-year career on social media.
In a video posted on Instagram, Pollard said:
“After careful deliberation I’ve today decided to retire from international cricket.
“As is the case of many young persons it was a dream of mine to represent the West Indies team from the time I was a boy of 10 years and I’m proud to have represented West Indies cricket for over 15 years in both the T20 and ODI forms of the game.
“I can still vividly remember making my international debut in 2007 under the leadership of my childhood hero, Brian Lara. Wearing those maroon colours and playing alongside such greats has been a privilege that I never took lightly, soul in every facet of the game – whether bowling, batting or fielding.
“Sometimes people see the role of a professional cricketer as being something glamorous and while there is that aspect of it, there are many sacrifices that sportsmen have to make to play at an international level. Being away from home and family has never been easy, but I can say that I have had the solid support of my family. My stepfather, mother, sister and other members of my family have stood by me and encouraged me over the years and most certainly helped to mould me into the person I am today while playing this beautiful game that I love.
“However, words cannot do justice to the unconditional love, and understanding of my dear wife, Jenna and our three children. I have been blessed to have them in my life. They provided the motivation for me to work even harder and to try to be the kind of person of whom they could be proud. I am looking forward to seeing more of my family and enjoying quality time with them as I bid farewell to this chapter of my life and move on to the next.”
Pollard made his international debut in April 2007 against South Africa in the 2007 ODI World Cup held in the West Indies. Over the course of his 15-year career, Pollard went on to represent the Windies a total of 123 times and amassed 2,706 runs with the bat and took 55 wickets. Pollard made his T20I debut in June 2008 against Australia and went on to play 101 T20Is, scoring 1569 runs and taking 42 wickets. Pollard was a regular in the West Indies squad until 2014, when he was left out along with other senior members due to the players’ conflict with the board. Pollard returned to the national team in June 2016 and was announced as the captain of the Windies limited-overs teams in 2019. Even though he represented the Windies for over a decade, Pollard never played a Test match for them.
Pollard will continue to represent his teams across various domestic T20 leagues around the world. The Trinidadian is a five-time Indian Premier League champion, having won all five trophies with the Mumbai Indians, whom he joined in 2010 and is still with.
