Like thousands of cricket fans, West Indies' legendary all-rounder Kieron Pollard is surprised and disappointed with the team's early exit from the T20 World Cup and instead of pinning all the blame on players, the veteran all-rounder underlined that stakeholders must share the blame. The Men in Maroon were not contenders heading into the multi-national tournament but they were still expected to qualify for the Super-12 stage. After all, it's the mighty West Indian team, one that boasts players who can single-handedly turn the complexion of a T20 game within a span of a few balls.
But the two-time champions West Indies failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 showpiece in Australia after suffering defeats to Scotland and Ireland in the first round.
"A bit surprised, to be honest that (West Indies) weren't able to get over the line against the other teams," Pollard told i95.5fm, a Trinidad-based radio station.
"But again, that speaks volumes of where our cricket as is at the moment. I feel it. I feel it for the guys because they are the ones that are going to get the bashing. And it's not all their fault," he added.
The elimination attracted reactions from across the cricketing world.
Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt issued a scathing statement, saying a 'post-mortem' would be carried out immediately.
Australian legend Ricky Ponting has called the once-formidable West Indies' early exit from the tournament a 'disgrace'.
Pollard said, "We have a young captain, we have young players, guys who would have played only a handful of (matches in) T20 cricket and now they are in the World Cup.
"And when I look back at it, I sit back and I have a smile on my face. Because I remember some of the things that was said last year around this time, when some individuals weren't selected.
"I just had to remind these people that there was a World Cup we were going to (in 2021) and another bilateral series (in New Zealand). And now some of the individuals get the opportunity to play in the World Cup. And, again, look what has happened. It's no fault of theirs," he said.
"But when we tried to sort of protect them and let people understand (in 2021), they were not ready for that, we were lambasted. There were a lot of things that were said that were very derogatory at times. It's a sad day for West Indies cricket and all of us," he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
