Sunil Narine would not be added to Windies T20 WC squad, confirms Pollard
Oct 13, 2021
Dubai [UAE], October 13 : West Indies T20I skipper Kieron Pollard has confirmed that all-rounder Sunil Narine would not be added to the team's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Narine had recently taken four wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday.
"That has been explained. If I add my two cents or my words on how his non-inclusion came about, then it could be spun - just like how he's bowling on these Sharjah wickets - in all different directions. Let's deal with the fifteen guys that we have here at this moment in time, which is more important, and see if we can rally around these guys and see if we can defend our title," ESPNcricinfo quoted Pollard as saying.
"I have no comments on that. Enough has been said on that. I think persons have explained the reason for his non-inclusion at this point in time. For me personally, I know Sunil Narine as a friend first, before an international cricketer. We grew up playing cricket together. He is a world-class cricketer," he added.
Narine's KKR team-mate Andre Russell, has not played a game in the IPL since September 26 due to injury but Pollard hopes that the all-rounder will be fully fit for the T20 World Cup.
"Before I make any assumptions as to what he can or he can't do, we need to do our assessment first as a team. We haven't had the opportunity to see him. We've gotten reports as to what he has done. I wouldn't want to get into trying to say what he can or can't do at this point in time," said Pollard.
"He's a critical person for our team and we'd love for him to be 100 per cent, but we have to deal with what's in front of us. Let's see what happens over the next couple of days. KKR has another game and then, if they get through to the final, on Friday. When we see him as a management staff, we'll be able to assess and ascertain what he can or can't do, but we're looking forward to having a fit Andre Russell if possible," he added.
