Pierre – Crucial to TKR’s spin attack

KHARY Pierre made a name for himself in the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 Tournament. The left-arm spinner is hoping to make even a bigger impact in the 2019 edition.

Pierre, a member of the TKR family since 2017, has demonstrated that he is also an excellent fielder and a useful batsman. Pierre made his first class debut back in November 2016 against Leeward Islands. He has since played 16 matches taking 37 wickets and has averaged 24.66 with the bat that includes one fifty and one century.

Pierre is part of a formidable TKR spin bowling attack which also includes off spinner Sunil Narine and Sri Lankan leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna. Pierre and company will have to fill the void left by former TKR leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed. Ahmed, playing for TKR, ended the 2018 tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps in 13 matches at an economy rate of 6.18 and was bought by the St Lucia Zouks this season.

Despite only playing seven matches last year, Pierre ended the tournament tenth on the wicket taking chart with 11 wickets. Pierre made scoring almost impossible for opposing batsman ending the tournament with an economy rate of 5.65. His bowling figures of 3/29 in four overs in the 2018 CPL final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba showed that he is ready for the bright lights. Pierre got the wickets of Luke Ronchi, Chadwick Walton and Sherfane Rutherford and took a catch off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling to dismiss Jason Mohammed.

The dismissal of Rutherford showed Pierre’s athletic ability as he held on to a difficult caught and bowled opportunity. The tall left-arm spinner won the player of the match award for his heroics and helped TKR to a eight-wicket victory.

The West Indies selectors took notice and Pierre made his T20 international debut against India in November, 2018 and has since played four T20 matches for West Indies.