As the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) gets underway today, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will be looking for a fresh start with their eyes focused on the playoffs.
This is according to captain Kieron Pollard who shared his views on the 2020 edition of the tournament recently.
“Hopefully we can piece the puzzle together and start the tournament and have a good run,” he said.
“Our expectation not only for the match but the competition is to qualify for the playoffs, that’s our only objective so each and every game becomes important,” he added.
TKR will open their campaign at the Brian Lara Stadium at 10.00 hours today against losing finalists last season, Guyana Amazon Warriors, a team Pollard believes will continue to make history with keenly contested battles.
“Against Guyana, Guyana did well throughout 2019 but as you can see we have planned for 2020 and all the plans we planned as individuals have gone out the window. So 2019 is done, it’s a new series and every time we come up against them it’s a good
match. They got the better of us in 2019 but that counts as nothing in this tournament,” Pollard noted.
The all-rounder reflected on the build up to the tournament and confirmed that all has gone well with their practice despite the COVID-19 impact.
He acknowledged, “We’ve had the opportunity to get some practice outside and the guys have used the time wisely. We are in a situation where it is a world pandemic and we know the importance of being match ready. I think the guys are up for it, we have been good, everything has been working well for us and we are looking forward to the start of the tournament.”
Pollard pointed out that when it comes to the composition of his side, he is happy with the squad put together. In this side, Pollard expressed his satisfaction with the return of Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine as well as the inclusion of Praven Tamble, who is the oldest player in the CPL at 48 years.
“I think it’s going to be fantastic for us, these guys are proven match winners, Fawad (Ahmad) has been with us before and won a title with us, DJ [Bravo] the champion himself and I think that’s something we missed last year, the experience in our bowling. DJ bowling early up and we lost Narine through the tournament as well to so having those two experienced players is a plus for us and they come in fit and in form in this tournament,” Pollard said.
The two-time champions have managed to maintain a core of players who have acquired a wealth of experience in the tournament. Lendl Simmons and Colin Munro have both been exceptional in the past.
Simmons is the leading run getter among active players this year with 2080 runs in 71 matches while Munro has amassed 1546 runs at a strike rate of 137.
Squad: Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo, Colin Munro, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Amir Jangoo, Fawad Ahmed, Ali Khan, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Lendl Simmons, Jayden Seales, Dwayne Bravo, Pravin Tambe, Sikandar Raza, Tim Seifert
