Captain Pollard expresses confidence in young team

CHIDAMBARAM: Ahead of the first one-day international against India, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard expressed confidence in the young batsmen in his side, backing them for greater success in the long run.

The visitors were defeated 2-1 in the T20I series, with India captain Virat Kohli producing a batting masterclasses in both games that the home team won. Pollard said that it was important for the young batsmen in his team to learn from such performances in a bid to improve themselves.

“It’s about you being able to realise your potential and you’re watching other guys who’ve done it or who’re consistently doing it,” Pollard said on Saturday, 14 December.

“The way they go about doing their stuff and the way they train - physically and mentally - and the amount of time they invest in their cricket careers is going to make the difference.

These guys who’re successful... we as cricketers who want to be destined to be great need to try to emulate.

West Indies are replete with promising young talent like Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran among others.

While plenty of those names have already shown ample evidence of their skills at the international stage, Pollard is of the belief that they will get even better with time owing to the hard yards they are putting in behind the scenes.

“Sometimes we need to do the extra, and that’s something we’ve spoken about with this bunch of guys we have.”