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Date of birth: |
May 12, 1987 |
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Teams Represented: |
West Indies, Mumbai Indians, South Australia, Stanford Superstars, Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies U-19s |
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Batting style: |
Right-hand bat |
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Bowling style: |
Right-arm medium-fast |
Keiron Pollard is an exceptionally talented all-rounder who is likely to play a major role on home soil for West Indies.
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Pollard represented his country in the 2005 TCL Group West Indies U-19 Challenge. He was later selected as part of the West Indies U-19 team to tour Pakistan, where he top-scored in their first youth ODI, making 53 off 49 balls.
Another half-century immediately followed but he didn’t manage to make double figures in any of the remaining games – an inconsistency that has continued to plague his career.
Pollard made his senior debut for Trinidad and Tobago in the Stanford Twenty20 against the Cayman Islands in July 2006, and it was in this tournament where the youngster hit the headlines.
He smashed a pulsating 83 off just 38 balls, including seven sixes to guide his country into the final. Six months later he made his first-class debut against Barbados, scoring a century in the process. Pollard showcased his aggressive qualities as 86 of his 126 runs arrived via fours or sixes, including a first-ball maximum.
Pollard’s raw but obvious talent prompted the selectors to pick him as part of the 15-man squad for the 2007 World Cup. He picked up a couple of wickets in a warm-up game against Kenya but was dropped as Brian Lara’s captaincy came under scrutiny. He was given the nod for their must-win encounter with South Africa but the Windies failed to progress to the semi-finals.
Arguably his finest performances to date were during the Champions League Twenty20 in October 2009. A thrilling 18-ball 54 for T&T against New South Wales thrust him into the limelight and he was later signed by South Australia.
As the clamour for him continued, the Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore all made outrageous bids at the 2010 IPL auction in an attempt to acquire his skills. All three teams bid the maximum $750,000 allowed so a silent auction was needed to determine his destination – Mumbai Indians won the tiebreaker with a bid rumoured to be $2,800,000.
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Pollard is just a monster when it comes to the bat – think it was unfortunate that he was unable to consistently deliver last month though – West Indies were betting on the cricket world cup to be the first stage that Pollard could have really made a significant impact for the team after years of failure on the international cricket stage.
He definitely has a strong T20 mentality though – just not sure if he has the temperament to deliver in ODI cricket! It’s no wonder he’s one of the most expensive players in the Indian IPL – he really is a dangerous player at the crease!
Wabber, you’re quite right – the Windies were definitely betting on Pollard to deliver a Kevin O’Brien style performance in every match. In my opinion he’s a great T20 player but doesn’t have the right mindset for ODI.
Pollard is a superb Twenty20 player – perfect head for that version of the game: come, hit, conquer. It’s no wonder he is so south-after in the IPL!