Kieron Pollard retires from international cricket

The bowlers can breathe a sigh of relief this time. In international cricket, Kieron Pollard will never be seen batting again. The West Indies star cricketer has said goodbye to international cricket. He announced his retirement from international cricket in a video message on Instagram on Tuesday night.

“After careful deliberation, I’ve 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 T20I and ODI forms of the game.” Pollard wrote on Instagram.

Kieron Pollard’s name will be at the top of the list representing Caribbean cricket in the 21st century. The cricketer has played cricket in the West Indies jersey for a long time.

Pollard made his West Indies jersey debut with ODI cricket on April 10, 2007. After getting a chance in Brian Lara’s side against South Africa in Granada, failed to make a good start. Jacques Kallis’s good length delivery hit Pollard’s wicket until he hit 17 off 10 balls. He also made his Twenty20 debut against Australia in Bridgetown the following year.

He has played 224 international matches for the country in his 15-year career. He scored 2706 runs at a 94.42 strike rate in ODIs. Pollard, who has been admired for his aggressive batting in the short format, has scored 1569 runs at a strike rate of 135.14. At the end of his career, the Caribbean star amassed 3 centuries and 19 half-centuries. He has taken a total of 97 wickets in ODIs and T20s.

In his enriched career, he won the country’s T20 World Cup in 2012. After Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh, he is the third cricketer in international cricket to hit six sixes in an over. He hit six sixes in one over to Sri Lanka’s Akila Dhananjaya in the 2021 T20.

Pollard is a big advertisement for franchise cricket worldwide in this era of T20. Pollard has 3350 runs and 84 wickets in his 184-match IPL career. He has made 16 fifties by batting at about 150 strike rate.

Pollard will continue to play in the franchise-based T20 league despite retiring from international cricket. He will also play in the West Indies T20 League. Yet can his fans not miss the entertainment peddler in international cricket?