"They didn't do too well in South Africa" - Kieron Pollard says India will have their work cut out against West Indies
West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard on Saturday said India will have their 'work cut out' against his team in the impending three-match ODI series.
Pollard pointed at India's humbling 3-0 ODI whitewash in South Africa last month to emphasize his point. He also indirectly referred to the hosts' controversial captaincy shuffles to suggest the Men in Blue aren't in the best place at the moment.
Speaking in the pre-series press conference, Pollard said:
"As you mentioned they (India) didn't do too well in South Africa, and with all the other things on the outside, they will have their work cut out. But as I stated earlier for us, it is about focusing on what we can do. They will have their challenges, we will have our challenges."
He added:
"The good thing is that when we start the game tomorrow, there is no advantage or disadvantage. We start on a level-playing field and whoever plays better cricket on the day will come out on the top."
Captain ๐๐๐๐๐๐ reporting! ๐
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India's ODI rubber against the Proteas was supposed to be Rohit Sharma's first as the full-time ODI captain following Virat Kohli's sacking. However, the 34-year-old pulled his hamstring days before the tour. In his absence, the KL Rahul-led side struggled with multiple long-pending issues, failing to win even a single match.
"When you are a full-time captain, I think that is something sort-of different" - Kieron Pollard on Rohit Sharma
#TeamIndia begin preps in Ahmedabad ahead of the ODI series against West Indies.
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Pollard added that India might go through a learning phase under Rohit. He called his Mumbai Indians teammate a good person who knows how to lead. However, he also stated that being a stand-in captain for a few games is different from being at the helm full-time. He said:
"Obviously, Rohit, you know, a good person, he knows how to lead, but having said that he will be coming up with his own plans and the way that he wants to play, wants the team to sort of play, so that will be a learning for them (India) as well..."
He continued:
"Because, yes, you have captained a couple of games but when you are a full-time captain, I think that is something sort-of different."
So far, Rohit has led India in 10 ODIs, winning eight matches. He also sports a brilliant batting average of 77.57 in these games. After a tumultuous few months, India will hope that the skipper brings his A-game in both departments to kick off the preparations for the 2023 World Cup.