Trinbago Knight Riders captain, Kieron Pollard admitted the inaugural 6IXTY was indeed beneficial for his team leading up to this season’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
“I thought [THE 6IXTY] was a good start, guys [got] acclimatized to conditions,” he said. “[Now] as a team, we are looking forward to the [CPL].”
Pollard was full of praise for the TKR management which assembled the team.
“I think the management team has done a fantastic job in putting together a squad where, I believe, we have all bases covered. [We have] a lot of great names on paper, in terms of what [these players] have achieved as individuals, and as [a part of] teams.”
“I believe that we did well in having the best sort of combinations and having some great spinners – world-class spinners – in our line-up,” he continued.
“Hopefully, in the back end of the tournament, the pitches might get a bit slower. We [play] the last couple of group games in Guyana; the playoffs are in Guyana. So you have to think about all aspects of the tournament [in squad selection].”
The former West Indies white-ball captain also seemed content with the Knight Riders’ batting line-up.“I [also] think we have all bases covered in terms of our batting-order, power-hitters, and guys to rotate strike .“
Yet, he cautioned complacency, ”Again, I will stress that names on paper, the best combination, world-class players, it’s still not going to guarantee you the trophy. You still have to go out and do well. [We] still have to prepare well in order to achieve the goal at the end.”
Therefore Pollard insists TKR isn’t just focused on the big-name players, “Obviously, when you look at the team on paper, we have a lot of world-class players, a lot of guys who have played around the world and guys who have done well.
“[But] I don’t think we are looking at that. I think we are looking at what we can achieve as a team and what we can do on the field as individuals, inclusive of what the team requires. Hopefully, with the experience of everyone, we can bind that together and show some results when the time comes.”
The Knight Riders currently sit third on the CPL table, with one win and one no-result from their two fixtures.
When u put all the best T20 players in one team the result can only be the same, but it don’t bring value to the tournament, it only water it down, after a while the fans would lose interest, seeing the result will be predicted wen that plays its games.
macaha