The West Indies captain Kieron Pollard did a strange thing in the T20 World Cup game between West Indies and Bangladesh at Sharjah cricket ground today. Pollard, who was batting on 8 off 16 balls and was struggling to time anything off the middle of the bat, suddenly walked out of the ground without being dismissed or without any injury.
The fans just couldn’t understand why Pollard did that and many of the fans even came to the conclusion that it was the first tactical retire out ever in the history of T20 international cricket.
Fans thought since Kieron Pollard was not able to time the ball at all, he perhaps thought his presence might push West Indies further behind the game and it might be better for him to walk out and the other big hitters to come and play some shots.
West Indies managed to find some hitting momentum after Kieron Pollard walked back to the pavilion
The momentum actually changed after Pollard’s departure because Nicholas Pooran just took the Bangladeshi spinners on and dragged West Indies to a respectable total of 142 which was round about par on a surface that was not only slow, but was also keeping low.
Pollard, however, still had to come out and play a couple of balls towards the end of the West Indies innings as they lost 7 wickets and there was no recognized batsman left after that.
Pollard even hit a six on the last ball of the innings, but after that, he didn’t take the field as West Indies captain, and it was Nicholas Pooran who led West Indies in the second innings. That almost confirmed that Pollard had actually not tactically retired out, but he had gone out as he was not feeling well because of Sharjah heat.
Fans, however, came up with a lot of tweets as Pollard went out randomly, and some even suggested that it might now be a trendsetter for the batsmen to do that whenever they are struggling with their timing and rhythm. Here are some of the tweets on Pollard’s decision –
Did Pollard really retire because he wasn't able to time the ball? Only good thing coming out of this WT20 for cricket, if so.
— Manya (@CSKian716) October 29, 2021
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If you want to retire out someone, why is it Pollard and not Chase? So was he actually retired hurt and not retired out?
— Alagappan Vijayakumar (@IndianMourinho) October 29, 2021
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Tactically, a batter retiring of their own accord might be the widely agreeable thing to do. The contentious bit will be when batters will chose to retire "hurt" and not retire "out". #pollard #WIvBAN #WT20
— Mustafa Rangwala (@Mustimasti) October 29, 2021
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Did Pollard just retire himself so that Dre Russ could come in, and then Russ gets run out next ball without facing?! Pollard really didn’t look injured or suffering from the heat, was only out there for 16 balls. Strange. #WIvBAN #t20worldcup
— Charlie Gresty (@Charlie_Gresty) October 29, 2021
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Highly unlikely Pollard would retire himself out. He hadn’t attempted any big hits. Along with his ability to change the game in a jiffy, He’s also the captain of the side. Presuming it is health related. #Wi #Bangladesh #Retired #BANvWI #T20WorldCup
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) October 29, 2021
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Kohli should also do like Pollard
Open the Innings and then Retire Until 12th or 13th Over— DK (@DarkKnightRised) October 29, 2021
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Did Pollard retire because he couldn’t hit it off the square 😂 #WIvBAN #T20WorldCup
— Michael Parker (@Parksy17) October 29, 2021
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Pollard becomes first man in cricketing history to retire himself out because he was not able to accelerate. This is something outstanding and very brave. Cricketing world will absolutely love it. #BANvWI #WIvBAN
— Analysis with SIK (@AnalysisWithSIK) October 29, 2021
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Is that the first tactical retired out in world cricket, Pollard – 8(16).
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 29, 2021
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Pollard. Retiring. Captain, leading from the front. A first and of many to follow.
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) October 29, 2021
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Pollard abruptly leaves.
Retired out, we are told.
AdvertisementHe returns.
He faces two balls. Misses one and hits a six.
There is something very West Indian in all this but cannot figure out what.
AdvertisementMaybe the randomness of it all.
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT) (@ovshake42) October 29, 2021
