West Indies and Mumbai Indians star Kieron Pollard has etched his name into the history books by becoming the first player to play 600 T20 matches.
The 35-year-old is currently playing in England’s Hundred for the London Spirit. He achieved the feat in his side’s match against Manchester Originals on 8th August.
In his 600th appearance, Pollard struck a quickfire unbeaten 34 of 11 balls.
In his 600 matches, Pollard has amassed 11,723 runs making him the second highest run-scorer in T20 cricket behind Chris Gayle. He also has 309 wickets to his name.
The West Indian powerhouse has played for 19 franchises spanning over 16 years. He has lent his services in India, England, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies and South Africa.
Besides contributing to the Windies, Pollard remains a key figure for Mumbai Indians. The other players with the most appearances in T20 cricket are as follows.
Dwayne Bravo – 543
Shoaib Malik- 472
Chris Gayle – 463
Ravi Bopara – 426
Sunil Narine – 421
Andre RusselI – 414
Including Pollard, 5 out of the top 7 athletes hail from the Caribbean. Thus, the numbers add weight to Mohammad Kaif’s recent comments on West Indies players preferring overseas leagues over international duty.
Pollard retired from international cricket in April this year after a long 15 years of service to the nation. He won the T20I World Cup with West Indies in 2012 but was ruled out of the winning campaign in 2016.