Kieron Pollard, a Cunning Captain Who Thrived & Perished on Loyalty

Kieron Pollard announced his international retirement on 20 April.

Kieron Pollard called time on his international career.

(Image: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

West Indies cricket is a funny business. The team isn't like any other regular cricket playing nation but is an amalgamation of a lot of different moving parts.

For the uninitiated, West Indies is not a particular country as such but a combination of various islands which come together under the West Indian flag.

Unlike several countries who have patriotism as the driving force of their success, West Indies cricket functions purely as per the law of the jungle where it is the survival of the fittest. Most players keep their individual interest ahead of national interest, and not that there's anything wrong in that, but it takes hell of a lot of man management skills as the leader of the pack to just keep the team together, let alone winning.

With this knowledge, one must respect Kieron Pollard's decision to accept the West Indies white-ball captaincy, both ODI and T20I, after the team's disappointing campaign at the ODI World Cup in 2019, at the ripe age of 32 when his fellow T20 globetrotters were far from interested in representing the West Indies regularly.

The Loyal Captain

Captaincy not only brought added responsibility and a lot of unwelcome chores but meant that Pollard had to lose out on some big bucks in order to be available for the national side over showing his pyrotechnics in some newly-mushroomed domestic T20 or T10 league around the world.

Under these trying circumstances, Pollard did not do a bad job, winning 13 of the 39 T20 Internationals in charge. The Trinidadian also won 13 out of the 24 One-day Internationals in which he captained with a win-loss ratio of 1.181.

One thing that has always been very dear to the big man is loyalty. From handholding Nicholas Pooran not only as a T20 freelancer but also as future WI captain to sticking his neck out for his teammates, Pollard lived and died by the sword of loyalty.

It was this loyalty which kept him out of favour during the Dave Cameron era, standing shoulder to shoulder with captain Dwayne Bravo for the interest of his teammates. It was a move that saw his International career being derailed as the big man was not included in the Windies squad for the 2015 World Cup.

It was this very loyalty which earned him the respect of his teammates and when the CWI (Cricket West Indies) administration changed hands with Ricky Skerritt coming in charge, he was awarded for his stance with the white-ball captaincy.

It was this very loyalty again which saw him put his neck on the line for the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul and fleetingly for even Fidel Edwards.

Most of these players were probably past their sell-by date but perhaps Pollard chose loyalty over meritocracy for once as none of these players were able to make an impact in the 2021 T20 World Cup. As a result, West Indies were knocked out of the competition in the group stage itself, finishing at the second-last place in their group with just one victory from five matches.

The End of an Era 

While the World Cup debacle sounded the death knell for the careers of several West Indian big shots, it also made it untenable for Pollard to hold on to his captaincy for much longer.

Despite the CWI management still on his side, the pressure kept mounting on the West Indian big-hitter. Pollard ultimately chose to call time on his International career altogether rather than fight the big fight or hold on to his career despite losing captaincy.

The low-key end though does not take away from Pollard's decorated international career which began back in 2007 under the leadership of none other than The Prince.

More than 11,500 runs, and counting, from 588 T20s at an average of 31.31 and a strike rate of 151.73. Just take a minute to ponder over these numbers which are second to none across the board.

Ponder over the 729 fours, 771 sixes, 319 catches, 56 half-centuries and 305 wickets in the T20 format and the number of teams he represented which one should not even attempt to spell out lest the word limit here be breached.

Having played 224 International matches over 15 years, the second-highest for a male cricketer without a Test cap and 101 T20 Internationals, the most by a West Indian Men's cricketer, Kieron Pollard not only boasts of jaw-dropping numbers but longevity as he decides to step away from international cricket.

What's more, how many players can claim to have hit six sixes in an over in T20Is? Only one other than Yuvraj Singh. Better ask Akila Dananjaya.

Pollard's brightest hour came in the semi-final of the 2012 T20 World Cup against Australia, an event which West Indies went on to win. The all-rounder smashed 38 off just 15 deliveries on the big night before picking up two crucial wickets to see his side home.

He wasn't part of the 2016 World Cup side which defended the trophy successfully but Pollard's retirement seems to be the final nail in the coffin for the batch of the 2012 T20 World champions.

As West Indies walked away from the 2021 T20 World Cup after an 8-wicket defeat against Australia, heads hung low, Pollard had a heartfelt message, and perhaps some foreshadowing, for the fans.

"Overall, it has been a disappointing campaign. But for me, it's the end of a generation, an era where you have some guys who have done some good things for T20 cricket, not only in the Caribbean but around the world. Sometimes one tournament you don't want to sum up the entire thing when it comes to that but rationally these guys have done pretty well for themselves and we as people are very, very proud... Thanks to the Caribbean fans, yes we disappointed you as a team, sorry. But life goes on. Thank you very much."

Thank you very much, Polly. A few more of those bottom-handed swipes over mid-wicket in the IPL and the CPL please, before the lights go out completely.