KIERON POLLARD, captain of the Trinbago Knight Riders men’s team, believes the 2022 squad has all the ingredients to win a fifth Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title, but will have to execute every time. go out on the field.
“When you look at the squad, on paper we’ve got a lot of world-class players, guys who have played around the world and done well,” said Pollard, the former West Indies white-ball captain.
“Finally, Andre (Russell) has come to the sister franchise or baby franchise of (Kolkata) Knight Riders. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time,” added Pollard. “His numbers speak for themselves, in terms of what he has achieved as a cricketer and as a T20 cricketer around the world.”
CPL 2022 kicks off today with TKR Women taking on Barbados Royals Women – recent winners of the inaugural 6IXTY tournament – in the first leg at 3pm of a double-header that also features defending men’s champions St Kitts & Nevis Patriots vs Jamaica Tallawahs. at Warner Park, Basseterre.
Another double-header tomorrow at the same venue will see TKR men take on St Lucia Kings, while the second encounter pits SKN Patriots against Barbados Royals.
Most recently winners in 2020, TKR made it all the way to the semi-finals last year as SKN Patriots, captained by Dwayne Bravo, went on to lift their maiden CPL title. Always confident, Bravo envisions the reigning champs as more than just a great one-shot winning franchise.
“A few days ago (during) the first Universe Boss trophy, right here in St Kitts, we won it. So it’s a good base. We are starting to build and believe as a franchise that we can also be a dominant force in the CPL,” Bravo emphasized. “We are looking forward to defending our title. But not only that, we are looking forward to playing a brand of cricket to entertain the fans,” added the former TKR all-rounder.
Overall, TKR is the most successful franchise in the history of the Caribbean Premier League – the inaugural tournament held in 2013. The Trinidad and Tobago-based team has won three of the last five finals (2017, 2018 and 2020) and four titles in total. including the 2015 edition when they were then known as Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
Pollard is also of the firm opinion that apart from their strong batting, TKR also have a world-class spin attack consisting of locals Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein, Khary Pierre, along with the Sri Lankan pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Seekkuge Prasanna. Likewise, he looks to Nicholas Pooran to deliver strong all-round performances.
“Nicholas Pooran himself, the West Indies (white-ball) captain at the moment,” Pollard said of his former West Indies deputy, “We have high hopes for him in everything he does when it comes to leading the team. West Indies. When he steps onto the cricket field to produce the kind of powerful shots we are used to.” Pollard added: “Very talented. We see that he (Pooran) is also playing off-spin, so he adds to the (spinners’) contingent.
Even with the wealth of talent contained in his TKR, Pollard is taking a cautious approach in hoping his team is as good on the field as it looks on paper.
“We are looking at what we can achieve as a team. What we can do on the pitch as individuals, including what the team is looking for and hopefully everyone’s experience can bring that together,” he said.
Pollard also feels that the recently concluded SKYEXCH 6IXTY pre-tournament, a 10-over-a-side competition, would have given the players a good start to the tournament in the absence of CPL pre-tournament camps. SKN Patriots beat TKR by three points in the final which ended on Sunday.
TKR team (for men):
Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Tion Webster, Maheesh Theekshana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Tim Seifert, Ali Khan, Colin Munro, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Terrence Hinds, Leonardo Julien.
Today’s CPL Matches:
(Women)
TKR vs Barbados Royals, 3pm Warner Park
(Men)
Patriots vs Tallawahs, 7pm Warner Park
