SK IPL Flashback: When Kieron Pollard taped his mouth and amused everyone
West Indians have a quirky sense of humor. The ‘New Big Dog’ and ‘World Boss’ are widely recognized as the two most entertaining cricketers in world cricket.
Gayle storms the stadium with his sixes, Dwayne Bravo raps, Andre Russell can fly around the field, Darren Sammy can shave his head after winning games, an unpopular Carlos Brathwaite can win a World Cup with four consecutive sixes, and Kieron Pollard can play a game with a tape on his mouth!
There is an alluring aura about the Caribbeans when they appear on the playing field.
It was in the eight edition of the Indian Premier League, in a game between Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 19, when all-rounder Kieron Pollard famously taped his mouth with brown sellotape, which is one of the funniest incidents in the chronicles of the cash-rich league since its inception in 2008.
Mumbai Indians had put up a competitive target of 210 for the red army on the day. Kieron Pollard was in constant chatter with West Indies teammate Chris Gayle, who was one of the two batsmen chasing the giant total.
The umpires were clearly not happy with the Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder’s constant banter with the RCB opener, which forced them to signal a warning to him. Pollard, displeased and rather angry with warning he was given, taped his mouth with sellotape, which he removed after a few overs.
He did so to make a point that he did nothing wrong and was not guilty.
The scene when a miffed Pollard ran to the dugout and came back with a piece of tape over his mouth was nothing but hilarious! Every time he wanted to have a chat with his teammates, he would peel remove tape and put it back on. From the commentators to the opposition players, spectators to the dugouts, everyone were left laughing at the the MI all-rounder’s antics.
The cameras too picked up his actions as he constantly appeared on the giant screen, bringing a wry smile on his Mumbai Indians coaching staff – Robin Singh and Ricky Ponting among others. “Quiet Please!!!” said one of the images on the large screen at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Following this, Pollard’s Mumbai Indians teammate Harbhajan Singh defended him for plastering his mouth, saying the gesture was unique but not in bad taste.
"The umpire told him to stay quiet, so he wanted to make sure to put the tape on his mouth and be quiet, but he is a bit of character. He likes doing things like that. IPL brings the best flavours of the West Indies boys and there was something very different and unique which was in a good taste."
Skipper Rohit Sharma also looked at the incident as one which spiced up the game and made it more interesting. In the presentation ceremony he said, "Both Caribbean know each other really well, it was just fun around."
Following whatever transpired on the field, Pollard took to Twitter to clarify that his actions were in good humor and that there was "no spat" between him and Gayle during the match. He also asked the media to not brew their own stories.
Pollard then wrote on his Twitter page,
The Jamaican players are turning out to be the spice of the IPL each season, through their unusual antics, dance, out of the park sixes or otherwise. Mumbai eventually won the game by 18 runs, and Pollard’s protest will be remembered as one of the most hilarious moments ever in IPL history.
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