IPL 2021 | T20 World Cup is irrelevant at this point of time, asserts Kieron Pollard
Mumbai Indians and West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has said he is not thinking about the T20 World Cup now as it is 'irrelevant' considering that he is currently playing in the IPL 2021. Pollard said he won't look too far ahead and will deal with the World Cup once IPL 2021 comes to an end.
Pollard's comments came after Mumbai Indians fought hard to win against Punjab Kings on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. After electing to bowl first, Mumbai restricted Punjab to a total of 135/6 thanks to disciplined bowling effort by the bowlers including two wickets of Chris Gayle and Punjab skipper KL Rahul in one over by Kieron Pollard. Jasprit Bumrah also took two wickets for just 24 runs in his four-over spell with Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar taking one wicket each.Â
In reply, Mumbai struggled to get going as Ravi Bishnoi took two back-to-back wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in his first over. Saurabh Tiwari and Quinton De Kock steadied the chase with a partnership of 45 runs for the third wicket before Mohammad Shami cleaned up de Kock. Kieron Pollard came to the crease when the scorecard read 92/4Â and after Saurabh Tiwary got out to Nathan Ellis. He stitched an unbeaten partnership of 45 runs with Hardik Pandya to secure a six-wicket win for the defending champions. Pollard, after the win said that T20 World Cup is irrelevant right now as he is playing the tournament
“To be honest, World Cup is irrelevant at this point of time, we are playing the IPL tournament.Â
“When you are in a tournament as an individual, you look to think about present and not look too far ahead. It is a matter of giving all the guys confidence and finding the best solutions. These are guys that have done the job for us, people on the outside do not understand what cricketers go through,” Pollard said.Â
The T20 World Cup is slated to begin on October 17 barely a couple of days after the IPL final on October 15. The showpiece event is set to be played in UAE and Oman with the major part of it will be hosted by the former. The pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have slowed during the IPL but Pollard is not ready to read too much into it.Â
"Why think about the T20 World Cup when we are playing the IPL. Let's deal with the present, everyone is going on about the pitches, but you cannot get what you want all the time. As a professional athlete, you need to adapt. For me, personally it is about staying in the present and dealing with what is in front of us as a team," he added.
With this win, MI have jumped to fifth position in the points table and have kept the hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive. MI will play next against Delhi Capitals (DC) on October 2 in Sharjah.