Newborns need to be protected from ‘vultures’

Captain Pollard wants young West Indies talent to be nurtured well for long term

West Indies T20 captain Kieron Pollard on Thursday said young cricketers in his country need to be protected from "vultures of the game" when they are initiated into international cricket. West Indies have opted for some young players in their 15-member team for the limited overs series against India beginning with the first T20 International here on Friday, and Pollard said they need to be given enough opportunity to showcase their talent.

"They (Brandon King and Keserick Williams) have been pretty good. It's good that we have young guys coming in from the CPL. They are excited to represent West Indies. But the problem is, we as individuals try to judge people too quickly," Pollard said at the pre-match press conference.

"We need to have patience. At the end of the day we need results but sometimes you have to be honest with yourself. We look forward to these talents showing the world what they can do. Sometime you need to have umbrella over them and protect them from the vultures out there to pull them down," he added.

Youngsters like Brandon King, Khary Pierre, Sherfane Rutherford, Keserick Williams and Hayden Walsh Jr were preferred for the India tour to experienced players like Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo.

"They (young players) need experience and we need to back these guys and see how far they can go because we have seen their talent, their attitude. It's just a matter of trying to teach them and ease them into the world of international cricket which we know is a very tough place." Talking about the upcoming series, Pollard said his team will look to use the experience of playing in India to challenge the hosts.

"We play a lot of cricket in India. It's just a mater of using our experience and hopefully that experience can be a good step for us. At the end of the day we are here to play some good cricket. We have prepared well and from tomorrow we will hit the ground and start running," said Pollard.