On Wednesday, the Knight Riders added the St Lucia Zouks to their growing list of victims, following a 6 wicket D/L win in the top of the table clash. On a historic day for one of the team’s top bowlers, Dwayne Bravo, the Tridents successfully chased down the Zouks’ rain-hampered 111 for 6.
With wins over the Barbados Tridents, Jamaica Tallawahs, and Guyana Amazon Warriors the Knights Riders have shown tremendous ability with both bat and ball.
“When you look at our squad, the core of the team. A couple of guys missed out and we got a couple to come in. But we have guys that want to perform and want that opportunity, the guys that are playing are very hungry,” Pollard said, following the game.
“Each and every person has an idea of what their role is. There is a lot clarity that is going on in the dressing room, so when guys get their opportunity, they know exactly what they need to do,” he added.
“Once we put those pieces of the puzzle together and everyone knows their strengths, more often than not if we play a proper game we are going to come out on top. Our strength is our teamwork and communication."
The Indians posted 161-4 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Suryakumar Yadav top scoring with 52 off 36 balls with support from Tilak Varma (38 not out) and Kieron Pollard (22no).
Mumbai looked to be on course for their first win of the tournament when KKR were 101-5 in the 14th over, but Australia Test captain Cummins had other ideas.
The paceman matched KL Rahul's record for the fastest IPL half-century from 14 balls and put the Knight Riders top by hitting Daniel Sams for six to seal victory with four overs to spare, Venkatesh Iyer also playing a big hand with an unbeaten 50.
The 33-year-old Trinidadian all-rounder announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday after formally communicating his decision to CWI.
During his career, Pollard was one of the most powerful batters on the international stage and revolutionized the way T20 cricket was played. This was recently demonstrated when he struck six sixes in an over against Sri Lanka at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua in March, 2021.
His finest hour came in 2012 when as a member of the West Indies team that won the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup, defeating Sri Lanka in the Final at the Premadasa Stadium.
In expressing his gratitude CWI President Ricky Skerritt said Pollard demonstrated great leadership during his time representing the West Indies.
“On behalf of everyone at CWI I would like to express our thanks to Kieron Pollard for his outstanding service to the West Indies ODI and T20I teams over the past 15 years,” Skerritt said.
“We respect his decision to retire from international cricket and are especially grateful for the high quality of leadership and commitment he invested in both West Indies teams since his appointment as our white-ball captain in September 2019. We wish him continued success in his career.”
Pollard made his international debut for West Indies during the 2007 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and played 123 ODIs. He made 2,706 runs with a top score of 119 vs India in Chennai in 2011. He also took 55 wickets.
He made his T20I debut against Australia at Kensington Oval in 2008 and appeared in 101 matches. He scored 1,569 runs – including 99 sixes, and also took 42 wickets. His top score was 75 not out against New Zealand in Auckland in 2020; while his best figures were 4-25 against Ireland at Warner Park, St Kitts in 2020.
Bassarath's declaration follows that of West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell, who has led the charge of trying to get Narine back to the regional setup ahead of the June 1-29 global showpiece.
Narine, 35, confirmed his retirement from the international game last November. However, after a stellar 56-ball 109 for Kolkota Knight Riders (KKR) against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL tie on April 16, Powell said he’s been trying to coax Narine to rejoin the squad for the past year “but he’s blocked out everyone.”
At the same time, the Jamaican revealed that he sought the assistance of Nicholas Pooran and retired international stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo to convince their compatriot to return. Former maroon fast bowler Tony Gray also believes Narine would be a welcomed addition to Darren Sammy's side to challenge for a third T20 World Cup title.
West Indies won the 2012 and 2016 editions of the tournament.
After KKR's IPL win against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 14, Narine when asked about the possibility of returning to the West Indies team by former West Indies teammate Samuel Badree, pointed out that “I will be watching from home, Badree.”
However, Narine in another interview on Tuesday, appeared to soften his stance about making the proverbial U-turn, when he said, “It is what it is, but we'll have to see what the future holds.”
Bassarath explained that he has tried unsuccessfully to make contact with Narine, but he intends to keep at it.
“I haven’t spoken to him [Narine], and he hasn’t spoken to me. Everybody is asking for him to change his mind and come represent West Indies, at least for this last chance. It is my intention to give him a shout, and if I have to beg him to come back and make himself available to play in this tournament. Because this is what the people need," he said in a T&T Newsday article.
Bassarath, the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Bassarath also revealed that he reached out to Queen’s Park Cricket Club president Nigel Camacho – Narine’s domestic club – for help.
“I have also spoken to the QPCC president, and he indicated to me that he will also reach out to Sunil to see if he can change his mind to come on board," he shared.
West Indies are set to open their T20 World Cup campaign against Papa New Guinea in Guyana, on June 2. Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganda are the other teams in the group.
The selection of veteran players Chris Gayle, Fidel Edwards, and Dwayne Bravo has ruffled the feathers of some fans who insist the team should be more focused on developing younger players.
With the T20 World Cup coming up, however, the position of the panel of selectors, and articulated by Pollard himself, has been to leave the door open for any player that can meaningfully contribute to the team winning a third title.
Gayle (41), Edwards (39), and Bravo (37) have been called up to the team ahead of a series of T20 contests, ahead of the global tournament, which began with a series against Sri Lanka back in February.
“When you look at if from a logical perspective if you go with youngsters there will still be noise. No matter what you do there will be noise,” Pollard told members of the media, in addressing the issue.
“So, I think it’s what’s best for us, what’s best for us, and what we think is best for us going into a tournament like that. If those guys can be assets for us, then why not get the opportunity to use the little bit of experience or a little bit of cricket that they may have left in them," he added.
“It’s a situation that we are looking to pick the best team. So, these guys they play around the world, and we get the opportunity to see them play around the world and we wonder why they are not playing for us but then when we select them, we ask the questions, why are we selecting them? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
Bravo was released by Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, the same day his Trinidadian compatriot announced his retirement from the league and will take up a position as batting coach of the Mumbai Indians with which he won multiple IPL titles.
Bravo expressed mixed emotions in a post on social media.
“To my best friend, my teammate, opponent. 13 years ago I had a small part (to) play in introducing you to arguably one of the most successful IPL teams @mumbaiindians,” said Bravo, who was a teammate of Pollard’s having played for the Mumbai Indians during the first three seasons of the IPL before being picked up by CSK in 2011.
“I saw you grow from a little boy from Maloney and then go to India to dominate the toughest T20 league. You became a household name around the world. I salute you on a fantastic career (and) wish you all the best in the next chapter as it’s a sad day for you and your fans but we also celebrate what you have achieved.”
One of the marquee players for the Mumbai Indians since he signed in 2010, Pollard, in 189 matches for the side, has scored 3,412 runs at an average of 28.67, with 16 half-centuries while leading them to five IPL titles.
Bravo is expected to be resigned by CSK at a lower price later this year.
The Test side were hammered 4-0 by Australia and only avoided a whitewash after clinging on for a draw in a rain-affected match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
As a huge inquest into that pitiful failure Down Under begun, the T20I squad was preparing to lock horns with the Windies in the Caribbean, where Paul Collingwood is standing in for Chris Silverwood as head coach.
England top the rankings, but missed out on T20 World Cup glory when they were beaten by New Zealand at the semi-final stage last November.
West Indies never looked like retaining the trophy in the United Arab Emirates, losing four and drawing one of their five matches.
Things went from bad to worse for the Windies when they were whitewashed 3-0 in Pakistan, before losing an ODI series to Ireland 2-1 on home soil.
The tourists are not at full strength so soon after the Ashes, but Eoin Morgan still has a strong squad - with a mix of new faces and experienced heads - as they build towards another T20 World Cup in Australia this year.
England have won four consecutive T20Is versus the struggling Windies, who have lost eight of their past nine matches in the shortest format ahead of the opening match of the series at Kensington Oval,
We pick out some of the standout performers who could light up the series ahead of the opener in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Living up to the hype, Roy ready to fire
England fell short in their mission to become 50-over and T20I world champions, but they were outstanding before an expensive over from Chris Jordan swung the semi-final in the Black Caps' favour.
Liam Livingstone showed his prowess with the ball in that loss to the Windies and the clean-striking all-rounder should have a huge part to play in England's bid to dethrone Australia later this year.
Livingstone can put on a show in the Caribbean and there could be fireworks from Jason Roy, who blasted 115 from only 47 balls in a warm-up game against a Barbados Cricket Association President's XI this week.
Rebuilding job for Windies
West Indies were bowled out for only 55 in their defeat to England at the T20 World Cup, with Adil Rashid taking incredible figures of 4-2.
That just about summed up their tournament and they must turn the corner under the leadership of Kieron Pollard, who retained the captaincy.
Nicholas Pooran is set to play in his 50th T20I this weekend and the vice-captain is among the experienced players Pollard will need to step up.
Allen suffered an ankle injury during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and was in a race against time to be fit enough to bring his exciting talent to his very first World Cup. Pollard made that clear during a media session on Friday ahead of the West Indies final practice session ahead of Saturday’s encounter against England.
He's a big miss," Pollard. "Obviously, he was part of our plans throughout the entire home season. He's an exciting player, we know what he can do with the bat in the back end, the way he's electric in the field and of course his bowling. He's done a pretty decent job for us when he's gotten that opportunity, so yes, he's a big miss. It's very, very unfortunate for him, he's a young guy looking forward to playing in his first T20 World Cup, but that's the nature of sports and as a team, it's something we tend to bounce off pretty quickly and not sort of let those things keep us down.”
Notwithstanding Allen’s unavailability, Pollard believes Akeal Hosein is an adequate replacement for the multi-skilled Jamaican.
"We've got an able replacement in Akeal Hosein who has done himself a great deal of good with his performances in the CPL and in international cricket and ODI cricket,” Pollard said.
“Yes, he's young in his career but he takes on the mantle of bowling some difficult overs previously, so let's see what he can give to us and we're looking forward to the performances of all our spinners, bowlers and everyone."
The Super Kings, after winning the toss and electing to field first, restricted New York to 163-8 from their 20 overs.
Rashid Khan (55) and Monank Patel (48) were the top run scorers for MI against an important 2-18 off four overs from Marcus Stoinis. Aaron Hardie also took two wickets while Dwayne Bravo finished with 1-21 from 1.3 overs.
Texas then needed only 18.3 overs to reach 167-1 thanks to a 47-ball 72 from du Plessis, his third fifty of the season, including six fours and three sixes.
That knock now brings du Plessis’s run total to 375 from seven games, form that he will hope translates to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where he will captain the St. Lucia Kings beginning August 29.
Devon Conway capitalized on some missed chances from the MI New York fielders to finish 51* while Hardie followed up his two wickets with 40* off 22 balls.
The Super Kings will now face the loser of the Qualifier between the Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns in the Challenger on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.
Full Scores:
MI New York 163-8 off 20 overs (Rashid Khan 55, Monank Patel 48, Marcus Stoinis 2-18, Aaron Hardie 2-22)
Texas Super Kings 167-1 off 18.3 overs (Faf du Plessis 72, Devon Conway 51*, Aaron Hardie 40*)
MI Emirates scored 241-3 from their 20 overs before skittling the Desert Vipers out for just 84.
Fletcher scored his 50 from 39 balls in a 141-run opening partnership with Player of the Match Mohammad Waseem, who hit 11 fours and two sixes in his top score of 86.
Fletcher’s dismissal in the 13th over saw ME Emirates slip from 141-0 to 152 for 3 as Waseem was next to go in the 15th over with big hitter Najibullah Zadran going two balls later for a duck.
Enter Captain Pollard who smashed his 50 from just 19 balls while he and Dan Mousley mounted an unbeaten stand of 89 in 32 balls to propel MI Emirates to their daunting total.
Pollard’s unbeaten 50 contained four fours and four sixes while Mously contributed a valuable 31 from just 17 balls with three fours and two sixes.
Tom Curran, who had the wickets of Waseem and Zadran was expensive yielding 63 runs from his four overs.
The pressure of the score proved too much for the Vipers. They crumbled in the face of the bowling of Fazalhaq Farooqi who took 3-18, Zahoor Khan 1-9 and Imran Tahir, who wrapped up the match with 2-18 in 3.1 overs.
With their fourth win in seven games, MI Emirates are third in the six-team standings with nine points, one behind Gulf Giants and Desert Vipers, who still lead despite the loss.
The 34-year-old big-hitter has had a difficult campaign to date for the many-time IPL champions, who have themselves struggled to make an impact. With only two wins and eight losses in 10 games, the five-time title winners are rooted at the bottom of the IPL table.
In ten matches so far in IPL 2022, Pollard has struggled to score just 129 runs at an abysmal average of 14.33 and a strike rate of just 109.32. Pollard has been a loyal servant to the Mumbai franchise and despite it being the only IPL club that he has ever represented, since making his debut in 2010, Chopra believes the club is likely to take a chance with young South African Dewald Brevis. Brevis has scored 124 runs in six games but has an incredible strike rate of 155.
“I feel Kieron Pollard will not play any further this year, that's it, they won't play him anymore because Dewald Brevis is sitting outside and Tim David is doing well," Chopra said via his YouTube channel.
"Don't know why they didn't play a punt on Tim David earlier. They had kept this six-hitting machine sitting outside for a long time. Now they have remembered that they should play him and he has not disappointed them even once since they have played him.”
The recent recall of veteran players Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards, who are 41 and 39, respectively, caused consternation in some quarters. Some argue the selection of such senior players may have taken opportunities away from younger players looking to secure places in the World Cup squad.
Pollard, however, insists that several players have been given an opportunity in recent years and have failed to consistently provide what the team has needed. With the reigning World Champions currently ranked at 10th in the ICC rankings and the World Cup just a few months away, Pollard believes it’s time to prioritise winning games.
“Some of the guys have gotten opportunities when we started off in 2019, I believe, and it hasn’t produced the results that we might have wanted on a consistent basis. Guys were still in and out for non-cricketing reasons and stuff like that,” Pollard told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.
“These guys (Gayle and Edwards) continue to perform despite their age and one thing that has been said throughout is that the door is open to each and every individual, once you show that you can perform at the highest level,” he added.
“We need to start winning cricket matches, we need to win series…so we have to strike a balance. We are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup and we have to get into that winning habit. If it’s the case that we have a couple of extra senior guys to start that process, so be it.”
With the win Gulf Giants booked a place in Sunday’s 2023 ILT20 final where they will face Desert Vipers.
Coming off their emphatic eight-wicket victory over Dubai Capitals on Thursday MI Emirates looked a jaded team, scoring 167-5 from their 20 overs.
Pollard scored an unbeaten 57 from 35 balls while Nicholas Pooran contributed with 29 and opener Mohammad Waseem, 31.
Chris Jordan took 2-25 and David Wiese 2-31.
In reply, James Vince played a gem of an innings, scoring unbeaten 83 including the winning runs, a four off Fazalhaq Farooqi as Gulf Giants scored 168-6 from 18.1 overs.
Farooqi took 2-27 and Rashid Khan, 2-40 in the losing cause. Dwayne Bravo took 1-27.
The Emirates’ innings got off to the worst possible start with openers Muhammad Wasim (5) and Vritiya Aravind (3) being removed within the first three overs after the Vipers won the toss and elected to field first.
Grenadian Andre Fletcher and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran then combined to put on 43 for the third wicket before Fletcher fell in the ninth over for 21 to leave them 53-3.
Captain Kieron Pollard then joined Pooran at the crease and the pair batted excellently, eventually bringing up their 100-run partnership in the 19th over, the same over which saw Pooran bring up a well-compiled 50.
Pollard brought up his 50, his second in a row, in the previous over with a trademark straight six.
The partnership reached 116 when Pooran was finally dismissed, bowled by Tom Curran in the final over for 57.
In the end, the Emirates closed their innings 169-5 off 20 overs with Pollard not out on 67 from 39 balls including one boundary and six sixes.
The Vipers chase was rocked early when Trent Boult removed Rohan Mustafa for one in the first over to bring captain Collin Munro to the crease.
Hales and Munro put on a partnership before Munro was removed by a spectacular catch from Kieron Pollard for 41 in the eighth over.
One brought two for the Emirates as Samit Patel got his second wicket in the over, removing Sam Billings for just one to leave the Vipers 76-3 bringing Sherfane Rutherford to the crease.
At the halfway stage of the chase, the Vipers were 101-3 with Hales (34) and Rutherford (18) going smoothly.
The pair continued along and Hales brought up his fifth score of 50+ in a row in the 15th over before a single in the 16th over brought up Rutherford’s 50 off just 26 balls.
The match was ended in the 17th over when Rutherford hit a boundary and then a single to lead the Vipers to their fourth win in five games.
Hales ended up unbeaten on 62 from 44 balls while Rutherford faced 29 balls for his 56. Hales’ knock included six fours and two sixes while Rutherford hit four fours and three sixes.
Scores: MI Emirates 169-5 from 20 overs, Desert Vipers 170-3 from 17.3 overs.
Batting first, anchored by a resilient half-century from Danushka Gunathilaka (56), the Sri Lankans posted a creditable 160 for 6 after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Gunathilaka and Pathum Nissanka put on a blistering 94 off the first 10 overs.
In response, the Windies were also off to a strong start at 45-1 before losing five wickets for just 21 runs.
Chris Gayle, who made a first-ball duck on Wednesday in his first appearance in two years, didn’t comfortable in making 16 before falling to a catch by Ashen Bandara off Hasaranga.
Opener Lendl Simmons (21) was next out, lbw failing to pick a Hasaranga googly.
Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, and Dwayne Bravo all followed quickly for single-figure scores.
Hasaranga ended with 3-17, off-break bowler Akila Dananjaya, who was the victim of Kieron Pollard's midweek assault claimed 1-13. Wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan took 3-10, including accounting for Pollard who made just 13.
Dananjaya earlier accounted for Evin Lewis who made six. Hasaranga added Fabian Allan to his list of victims with the West Indies then struggling on 89-7 in the 16th over.
With more than 22 an over required, Sandakan then got the wicket of Pollard, who was caught in the deep for just 13 having surprisingly opted to bat at number seven.
The final match of the series is on Sunday.
Defending 121, the Strikers' left-arm spinner picked up a hat-trick in the first over of the innings, dismissing Andries Gous, Dewald Brevis and Ibrahim Zadran, to leave Samp Army reeling at 1 for 3.
In his second over, he removed the opposition captain Faf du Plessis and Najibullah Zadran in space of three balls to further rattle Samp Army.
Jason Holder's 22 of 11 and Qais Ahmad's unbeaten 31 off 13 at No.10 meant Samp Army huffed and puffed to 80 for 9.
Earlier, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blazing 56 off 28 set the tone for Strikers to post a competitive 121 for 5. His knock included four fours and five sixes.
In the end, Asif Ali smashed three fours in his unbeaten seven-ball knock of 17 to further lift Strikers.
Samp Army will have a second chance to make the final when they play the winner of the Eliminator between Bangla Tigers and Deccan Gladiators in Qualifier 2 later today.
At the time of publishing, the Tigers were 78-4 off seven overs batting first.
Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr has been named in the match-day squad while all-rounder Fabian Allen returns from an injury sustained in the recent series against South Africa. All-rounder Jason Holder is being rested for this series as part of his workload management, and he is expected to feature in upcoming One-Day Internationals and Test matches.
Roger Harper, Lead Selector said: “Hayden Walsh Jr adds variety and another wicket-taking option, while Fabian Allen, who was unavailable for the last game because of injury, returns. Considering the opposition, it is important that the team plays well in all departments, especially the batting, which needs to deliver more consistently.”
This CG Insurance T20I Series forms part of the West Indies’ World Cup preparation with a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup to be played from October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Fans in the Caribbean can watch exclusively live on Flow Sports or via the Flow Sports app. West Indies fans can also follow live ball-by-ball scoring in the www.windiescricket.com live match centre, featuring the new live match blog. Live radio commentary is available on a number of radio stations across the Caribbean and available worldwide, except in India and Bangladesh, on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
Fans in Australia can follow this match and the entire West Indies vs Australia CG Insurance T20I and ODI Series live on Foxtel’s Fox Cricket channel as well as via live stream on Kayo Sports.
Fully vaccinated patrons will be able to buy tickets for the series from the stadium ticket office at the East Gate on presentation of their vaccination documentation and their national ID, with tickets available at EC$50 per match. A three-match ticket promotion is available for just EC$120, with a special Series five-match season ticket special at EC$200.
FULL SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Travelling Reserves: Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair, and Oshane Thomas.
The defending champions are off to a poor start to the tournament after facing crushing losses at the hands of England and South Africa. With only two teams advancing to the semi-finals from the group a loss against Bangladesh would officially eliminate the struggling West Indies from contention.
Outside of the poor form of several batsmen, the team’s leadership and decision-making have also come under the spotlight in recent days. Both captain Pollard and coach Phil Simmons have faced scrutiny after a batting line-up change against South Africa, in the second match, backfired and seemed to be far more disruptive than beneficial.
Inside the dressing room, however, Pooran, the vice-captain, insists there are no doubts regarding decisions taken by the team’s leader.
"We have a wonderful captain. He knows what he's doing," said Pooran told members of the media in a pre-match press conference.
"Whatever he says goes, and we back him to make some really good decisions for us tomorrow to be successful,” he added.
Pooran is one of a handful of West Indies impact players who have struggled to find form, managing just 13 runs in the two matches so far.
Speaking openly on Hetmyer’s career and a number of other topics, Pollard reasoned that the 24-year-old player from Berbice will only excel if he is hungry enough for success.
“We love Hetty. He is a young, talented cricketer, a guy who we know, deep in our hearts, can take West Indies cricket forward from a generational point of view with his skill and what he can achieve on a cricket field,” Pollard said on the Line & Length TV Show on Sportsmax. The show airs at approximately 6:00 pm in Jamaica/7:00 pm ECT.
“He knows the truth and he knows what it is. We would love Hetty to be playing all three formats of our cricket, but as the saying goes, ‘you can only take the horse to the water, but you can’t force him to drink.’ So with that being said, I will leave it right there and for the individual himself to get things together.
“We love him and we want to have him. He has a fantastic record in ODI cricket; we saw what he can do in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it’s just for him to take what’s in front of him. The world is at his feet. It’s if he wants it bad enough and what he wants to achieve as an individual,” said Pollard.
Hetmyer has not been a consistent member of the West Indies team over the past year owing to fitness and Covid-19 concerns. Along with other senior players, he chose not to tour Bangladesh earlier this year out of personal fears and concerns for his safety because of the Covid-19 infection rates in that country.
In 16 Tests he averages 27.93 and is yet to register a century, but in ODI’s he has five hundreds and averages 36.66 from 42 innings while in T20s he has scored 379 runs with a strike rate of 116.97.
Over the last year, he has scored 100 runs from five innings in T20 Internationals and 14 runs in two ODI’s. His form for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League and the Delhi Capitals in the IPL has been more encouraging, but he failed to maintain a CWI contract, prompting cries in some circles that he wasn’t given a fair break.
In terms of the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa where the Windies will play five T20s in Grenada, Pollard warned that the side who is rated at Number-10 in the T20s must be on top of their game.
“We have to plan properly in order to conquer. Not looking too much into the names (of the opposition) because as I said before these guys are talented in their own right as they would have not been selected for their national teams (otherwise),” said Pollard.
Hetmyer was retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2021 auction, despite a lukewarm season in which he scored 185 runs in 11 innings at an average of 23.12 and a strike rate of 148.
However, his compatriots Keemo Pail and Sherfane Rutherford were not as fortunate as they were both released having failed to force their way into the starting line ups for the Capitals and the Mumbai Indians, respectively.
Not surprisingly, Kieron Pollard has been retained by the 2020 champions Mumbai Indians. Pollard was an influential figure in the Indians set up and captained the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury at the back end of the season.
Pollard’s compatriot, Dwayne Bravo, who suffered a season-ending injury in 2020, was retained by the Chennai Super Kings. Bravo won the Purple Cap in the 2013 and 2015 seasons. In 2013, he took 32 wickets during the IPL, the most ever for in an IPL, and he continues to be a game-changer for the Super Kings.
Meanwhile, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were both retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders even after less than stellar seasons. Christopher Gayle and Nicholas Pooran were deservedly retained by the Kings XI Punjab.
Jason Holder, who was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, after Mitchell Marsh suffered an injury early in the season, was retained by the franchise.
It was not all good news for Sheldon Cottrell who was released by Kings XI Punjab after a disappointing season. He was signed for more than USD$1 million. Fabian Allen and Oshane Thomas were released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, respectively.
