Pollard: We still have a job to do

NEW Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain Kieron Pollard said losing Dwayne Bravo for the entire 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 Tournament is a huge loss, but said they have to overcome the situation and continue their quest of winning a hat-trick of titles.

Pollard was announced as the new TKR skipper days before the tournament began as Bravo’s finger injury ruled him out of the start of the tournament, on Wednesday. Bravo announced during TKR’s match against Jamaica Tallawahs on Friday night that he will miss the entire tournament that ends on October 12.

In the television commentary booth during the match Bravo said, “The next aim for me is rehab to try to get my fingers moving again, it is going to be a long process...I will back playing competitive cricket in about two months time.”

Following the match on Friday, Pollard said after the latest results he knew Bravo would miss the tournament.

“It is something that we have come to terms with. From the time he did the scan and we got the results we knew that he was going to be out for the entire tournament with the surgery that he had to do.”

Pollard said Bravo does not want his injury to be a distraction. “Again it is a big blow for us. He was looking forward to captaining this team (and) bringing a couple of us local stars back into the fold and sometimes when you plan, as I keep saying, God smiles and I guess it was not meant to be, but the main thing he is there for us in spirit. He is a cheerful guy and he is always going to be happy. He asked us not to feel sorry for him, he is not feeling sorry for himself so we still have to go out and play cricket and we have a job to do.”

Asked by the media if Bravo is going to tour with the team during the CPL, Pollard jokingly said, “It is a conversation we need to have with the owners. Obviously it is going to cost, but if you guys want him to tour as a good luck (charm) we can all put up and have him with us travelling around the Caribbean.”