West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard has backed his team-mate, Chris Gayle, to do well in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE. Gayle has been on the receiving end of criticism for his performance lately.
In the IPL 2021, Chris Gayle scored only 193 runs in 10 matches with a strike rate of 125.32. He drew flak from former West Indies cricketer Sir Curtley Ambrose, who believes that Gayle should not be an automatic choice for West Indies. However, the Universe Boss has received the backing of his skipper Kieron Pollard.
Chris Gayle, Legendary Jamaica and West Indies Cricketer, born 42 yrs ago today on 21 Sep 1979. Most capped Windies player; only player to score triplet of centuries – triple hundred in Tests, double hundred in ODIs, a hundred in T20Is. Greatest batsman ever in T20. @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/HoQn5zt3PJ
— Wayne Chen (@wcchen) September 21, 2021
Addressing the press, ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Pollard said,
“Again, no words to describe what he has done for us in World Cups, in the T20 World Cups, and T20 cricket around the world as an individual. For him, 97 runs away, but I don’t think he will be looking at that. I think the main goal for us and him, is trying to win a World Cup and defend the title. He is looking forward to that. Hopefully, he can come and deliver for us. We back him to do well.”
It was good for us to play in the IPL, ahead of the World Cup: Kieron Pollard
West Indies will play two warm-up matches, one Pakistan on October 18 and the other against Afghanistan on October 20. They will play their T20 World Cup opener in the Super 12 stages against England on October 23.
Skipper, Kieron Pollard believes that playing the Indian Premier League in the UAE has given the players an insight as to what to expect from the pitches in the World Cup. He said,
“I thought it was good for us. Again not only as but all the players who are involved in this World Cup… get an opportunity to get a feel for what the UAE has to offer. I am sure some interesting sort of stats, comparisons, different sort of trends might have come out of the recently-concluded IPL.”
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