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Keiron Pollard, one of the key faces in the rise of T20 franchise cricket is also the current captain of the West Indies white-ball teams. Pollard was a literal unknown until 2009 although he did make his ODI debut in the 2007 World Cup which is hosted by the Caribbean Islands. It was the 2009 Champions League T20 that made Pollard famous as he struck a stellar 18-ball 54 against New South Wales to grab victory from the jaws of a certain defeat. Soon, a lucrative IPL contract worth $750,000 came his way with Mumbai Indians winning a literal bidding war to avail his services. For most cricketers, their story would revolve around their work in International cricket. For Pollard, it is different as he is one of the legends of the franchise game. After all, Pollard turned down a central contract from WICB so that he could be free to play franchise cricket. And so he did to play in the Big Bash League, Friends Life T20 tournament in England apart from playing for Mumbai Indians in 2010. In his first IPL season, Pollard didn’t have the greatest of tournaments with the bat but he did fairly well to pick 15 wickets. The next couple of seasons also saw Pollard contributing very less with the bat but the IPL saw his best exploits with the willow in hand. The big-hitter made 420 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 150 to help Mumbai lift their maiden title. The Trinidadian’s influence in MI’s best moments easily reflects his impact on the franchise. Even when the side went onto win the IPL in 2017 and 2019, Pollard had great campaigns in the bat. It was only in 2019 that Pollard didn’t make up the numbers but he still managed to come up with a few crucial knocks with none more being important than the 41-run knock in the IPL final against CSK. With the ball, Pollard might not be the quickest going around but he is certainly a clever operator who has come up with the goods on several occasions. There is a common perception that Pollard is o
