“Yes, I’ve played for a lot of teams with a lot of great players, but obviously, when you look at the team on paper, we have world-class players and a lot of guys who have played around the world,” Pollard said. “Again, to say the strongest and go down that route, I don’t think we are looking at that.
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“We are looking at what we can achieve as a team and what we can do on the field as individuals, inclusive of what the team requires, and hopefully, with the experience of everyone, we can bind that together and show some sort of results when the time comes.”
“I’ve been advocating it. I’ve said it after the last World Cup campaign as well. That is how a lot of cricketers have been unearthed in the Caribbean – through the local tournaments,” he said. “There is the CPL, which is great for the Caribbean players and great for the viewership as well and great for everybody, but in terms of the development – five overseas players coming and four can play at a time, which leaves seven locals. I don’t think that is enough to see the emerging talent. But, at the end of the day, the franchise owners and sponsors are putting in a lot of money to see good cricket. I don’t think they are just looking at development; they’re looking to be known on the global scene.
“So, I’ve said [it before] and I’m going to say it again, yes, I think we need another tournament so we can continue to bridge the gap of getting our players through. 6ixty was a good start, but it’s only ten-over cricket, so guys have to go from ball one. We want to unearth new talent not only for T20 cricket, but for 50 overs and Test cricket as well, so that we can have longevity in the sport and compete at the highest level on a consistent basis.”
After winning CPL 2021 and the inaugural men’s 6ixty, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots have now set their sights on defending their CPL title to do a three-peat and establish themselves as a dominant force in the region, their captain Dwayne Bravo said.
“It’s a good foundation that we started to build, and we started to believe, as a franchise and as a team, that we can also be a dominant force in the CPL and that’s our challenge. That’s our aim and we’re looking forward to defending our title. Not only that, but we also look forward to playing a brand of cricket that entertains fans and makes our franchise owners and the island of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots proud.”
“Yeah, when I was there in the IPL with him, I asked him if he would be interested in playing CPL and he said ‘yes’. And so straightaway I made a phone call and talked to the owners and got on to his agent and now happy to have him here,” Bravo said. “I’m looking forward to his season because he’s someone very experienced and he’s very eager to learn and obviously, he has international experience, so it’s a good combination to have someone like him who has the experience and is still willing to learn.”
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo