Kieron Pollard, one of the most fearsome hitters in the game, will continue to lead the Trinbago Knight Riders franchise in the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League. Pollard took charge of the team back in 2019 when Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the entire season due to an injury.
That year, TKR could not go past Barbados Tridents, who defeated them in Qualifier 2. However, last year, the Knights won all their 10 matches in the league stage and went on to win the coveted trophy.
Pollard and Co defeated St Lucia Zouks in the final in the 2020 season. After an incredible season last time, Pollard would now have the task of defending the title for his side. Evidently, the right-hander also led the Mumbai Indians in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League in the absence of Rohit Sharma in a few games.
In the 2020 CPL, Pollard was in scintillating form with the bat in hand. In 11 matches, the T20 superstar smashed 207 runs at an average and strike rate of 51.75 and 204.95, respectively. Although he scored only one half-century with a top score of 72, he played some useful cameos in the middle-order, which guided his side to big totals.
Pollard is one of the most experienced batsmen in T20 cricket. He has played 521 T20 matches and has scored 10,797 runs with 53 half-centuries and one century.
The 2021 CPL will start from August 28, with all the matches to be played at Warner Park in St Kitts. The venue will allow a crowd capacity of 50 per cent due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, proof of vaccination would also be required to enter the stadium.
However, Pete Russell, the CPL Chief Executive, stated that not all players would be needed to get vaccinated. He claimed that proper quarantining could also do the job for them.
“We’re aware that we need to get people vaccinated where possible. That’s not always going to be the case but that is a process that we’re undergoing right now whether it’s [those] working for the CPL or playing who will be vaccinated,”
“it’s not a requirement that they’ll be vaccinated because there will be quarantine options as well,”
Russell stated.
