Kieron Pollard seeks safety guard for West Indies youngsters ahead of India series

Newly appointed West Indies captain Kieron Pollard had a mixed outing against Afghanistan in India recently — winning the ODI but losing the T20I series. And now, he is set to face the biggest test as the skipper till now as the Caribbeans take on India in twin limited-over series starting Friday. The two teams will lock horns in the first T20I in Hyderabad.

Ahead of the tough series, Pollard, 32, has urged the West Indian cricket board to extend full support to the youngsters representing the Caribbean side and guard them against “vultures” eyeing to belittle them. The West Indies were thrashed in all the three formats by India in the Caribbeans earlier this year and the Men in Maroon will have to raise the bar by quite a few notches if they fancy their chances against a powerful Indian side.

The visitors are in India for some time now as they played Afghanistan in all three formats in Lucknow and that should prepare them well for the conditions. They won the ODI series 3-0 and the one-off Test but lost the T20I series 1-2 after taking a lead.

‘Exciting times ahead for youngsters,’ says Kieron Pollard

“We need to back these young guys as we have seen their talent and attitude. Exciting times ahead for the youngsters, we have a lot of young talent, it is just about easing them into the world of international cricket,” News18 cited agencies quoting Pollard as saying on the eve of the first game scheduled at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

“Sometimes you need to be honest with yourselves and protect them from the vultures who are out there to bring them down,” Pollard, who is a dashing batsman and quite a familiar name in India’s cricketing circles, thanks to his long-time association with the Indian Premier League.

India though are on a roll at the moment. They have been beaten only in the T20Is by teams like South Africa and Bangladesh. However, the Caribbeans will remember the murderous form India captain Virat Kohli was when they toured India last year-end by slamming three consecutive ODI hundreds.

The second and third ODIs will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8 and Mumbai on December 11. The ODI series begins in Chennai on December 15.