OPINION
Follow UsOctober 23, 2021: England, the ODI world champions and West Indies, the defending T20 world champions, locked horns in the league match of the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.
While the match was expected to be similar to the nail-biting summit clash of the iconic event five years ago, it turned out to be a fairly one-sided affair as England thumped Kieron Pollard and his men by six wickets in a 56-run chase to kickstart their dominance.
As a country known to produce destructive players in the shortest format of the game, Windies entered the World Cup as one of the favourites. However, the loss to England in their first group match was one of the glaring indications suggesting the decline of the Windies' domination.
They managed to win only one out of their five league matches and failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Despite all the drama surrounding the team, the skipper of the Caribbean side, Kieron Pollard, believed in the talented group and insisted they would be back to their best in the next edition.
While most people did not believe him, after the standard of cricket displayed by them on sluggish wickets in the United Arab Emirates, the team bounced back in a commanding fashion against England to register a series win at home.
After a plethora of senior players hanging up their boots, it is fair to say West Indies were undergoing a period of transition with Pollard at the helm.
While they showcased glimpses of the talent and was backed to the hilt by their leader, the team lacked consistency which caused their downfall.
With six months to go for the upcoming edition of the World Cup, the 34-year old shocked the cricketing fraternity with his sudden decision to retire from international cricket on Wednesday.
"After careful deliberation, I've today decided to retire from international cricket. As is the case of many young persons, it was a dream of mine to represent the West Indies team from the time I was a boy of 10 years, and I'm proud to have represented West Indies cricket for over 15 years in both the T20 and ODI forms of the game," he revealed on his official social media account.
With barely a few months for the upcoming edition of the World Cup in Australia, it is a strange decision from the Trinidadian.
As the dust settles on his sudden announcement, let us dive deep into his exploits for the Men in Maroon in the shortest format. 
In a career spanning 15 years, a young 19-year old Pollard made his debut for the national side at Bridgetown against Australia in June 2008.
Over the course of the next decade, Pollard churned out runs on a consistent basis and amassed 1,569 runs in 83 innings at an average of 25.3 and a strike rate of 135.1.
While he was making the noises for the right reason in the franchise cricket, he was often guilty of not replicating the same donning the Windies colour.
Despite being the only player to feature in 100 games for West Indies in this format, Pollard failed to inspire the team after being handed over the reins of the white-ball side in 2019.
In the 39 matches he has captained thus far, West Indies have managed to win only 13 matches and suffered defeats in 21 games, and five encounters have ended as no result.
The right-handed batter has a win percentage of 38.20, which is the lowest for a player who has captained the side in a minimum of five games.
While his record as the skipper of the side is underwhelming, to say the least, there ain't any doubt about his destructive ability with the bat.
Well, ask Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya, who was at the receiving end of his brutal power-hitting in March, 2021 at Antigua. Pollard etched his name in the history books by smashing the spinner for six sixes in an over and joined Yuvraj Singh as the only two players to achieve this incredible feat.
While his decision leaves the international arena with a plethora of questions and concerns for the team management ahead of the World Cup, there is much more to look forward from Kieron Adrian Pollard as he will continue to play franchise cricket around the world.
Despite not being a force to reckon with in the past couple of years, he still ends his career as one of the greatest West Indies have produced in the modern era.
