Insisting that he is happy in his life, Kieron Pollard has said he is available to play One-Day Internationals for the Windies. But at the same time, he admitted he has no idea about the plans the board might have for him.
Cricket West Indies and the players are not on the same page for quite some time now. And as a result, several top players have made limited appearances for the national team. A contract dispute in 2014 had even seen the team abandoning a tour of India midway through the series.
And four years since that incident, the condition is yet to improve to desired levels.
Last year, the board reached an agreement with the players’ union for a ‘temporary amnesty’. As a result, some big names like Chris Gayle returned to the ODI team. However, several big names still opted to skip the national team’s game to play franchise cricket.
Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels were part of the 15-man squad for last month’s 2019 World Cup qualifiers. But the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pollard and Darren Bravo had opted to play in the Pakistan Super League.
“I am actually happy in my life,” said Pollard.
“Whatever opportunity I get to play, I am happy. Now I am focusing on the IPL … and, after that, there are a couple of international series,” added the allrounder.
Pollard had represented Windies in 101 ODIs so far. However, the last one came way back in October 2016 against Pakistan. And he is now hoping to play more ODIs for his team.
“I am still very much part of the West Indies international Twenty20 squad,” Pollard said. “The 50-over cricket is still a bit up in the air as to what they (CWI) are thinking. That is a question you need to ask them.”
Windies made it to the World Cup after finishing runner-up to Afghanistan in a 10-team qualifier hosted by Zimbabwe.
Pollard expressed his delight over the qualification but was disappointed the two-time world champions had to take the qualifying route to make it to the event.
“Congratulations to them for qualifying for the World Cup,” the Trinidadian said.
“Obviously, as a West Indian cricketer, it’s disappointing that we had to go through that sort of an avenue … but I think the guys went and did a fantastic job.”
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