Pollard named new West Indies captain for ODIs and T20s

JAMAICA: West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been named as the new captain of their one-day international and Twenty20 teams, the country’s cricket board (CWI) said on Monday.

Pollard, who has not played an ODI for West Indies since October 2016, replaces Jason Holder at the helm. Holder, who led the team at the last two 50-over World Cups, will continue to lead the side in test cricket.

“We believe Kieron Pollard is the right person at the right time now to lead the West Indies team in white ball cricket,” CWI President Ricky Skerritt said at a news conference.

“Jason Holder is a very important force and he is still going to be our red ball captain.”

Pollard will begin his captaincy by travelling to India for a series against Afghanistan. They will play three T20s followed by three ODI matches in November.

“In the short term as captain, the immediate aim is to defend the T20 World Cup,” Pollard, 32, said. West Indies will be defending their T20 World Cup title next year in Australia.

“One of the discussions I hope to have is to bring back the idea of specialists playing in their best positions,” he added.

“I’ve played all over the world and I hope to use this experience to help the West Indies in my role as captain.”

The once mighty West Indies, who won the first two editions of the World Cup during the 1970s, finished ninth in the 10-team standings at this year’s tournament, winning only two of their nine matches.

Skerritt said that the CWI had reviewed a flawed selection policy and will now pick players based on various criteria such as form, fitness, performance, team balance and commitment.

“One of the things we found in our one-day team shortcomings is over 50 players were picked between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups,” Skerritt added. “It made little sense and the results showed.”

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