Kieron Pollard retires: Twitter hails ‘fighter and challenger’ after West Indian all-rounder quits international cricket – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard decided to hang up his boots in international cricket on Wednesday. The hard-hitting batter released an official statement regarding his retirement on his Instagram account.

“I have decided to retire from international cricket. It was a dream of mine to play for West Indies since I was a 10-year-old boy and I am proud to represent the West Indies for over 15 years in T20 and ODI format of the game,” Pollard said.

At present, the 34-year-old is playing for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Check out his post here:
Cricket West Indies also released a statement over the development and hailed Pollard for his rich contribution towards the game.   

Soon after his post went viral, several former and active cricketers along with fans congratulated the former West Indies captain for his journey so far.

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was one among the first to share a photo of the West Indies all-rounder along with himself. The master blaster termed Pollard a “fighter” cum “challenger”.

Pollard’s Mumbai Indians teammate Jasprit Bumrah was also quick to react to the news. The ace bowler called him ‘a power hitting maestro, solid team man and a great friend’.    

Former India cricketer Vinay Kumar also shared a special praise for the 34-year-old all-rounder.

Pollard’s West Indies teammate Chris Gayle was taken aback by the all-rounder’s decision. Reacting to his tweet, Gayle wrote ‘can’t believe you retired before me’.    

Check some more reactions here:

In 2007, Pollard made his ODI debut in the World Cup against South Africa. From then on, he played a total of 123 ODI matches for his country. The former Trinidadian cricketer also represented West Indies in 101 T20I matches but never played Test cricket for West Indies. It was in February 2022 when Pollard played his last international match against India.

In an international career spanning nearly 15 years, Pollard scored 2,706 runs in the 50-over format while adding 1,569 runs in T20Is. Furthermore, the MI all-rounder has scored 19 fifties and three centuries. He also among the few batters to have smashed six sixes in an over in international cricket.

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