Pollard talks up fitness for Windies players

Thu, Jan 13, '22

WEST INDIES white-ball skipper, Kieron Pollard, has pointed to fitness as a critical part of professionalism and says players need to “pride themselves” on keeping pace with the demands of international cricket.

Fitness standards have emerged as one of the major talking points in the selection of West Indies squads recently, with key players being overlooked after failing to meet Cricket West Indies’ requirements.

Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer, the Caribbean side’s leading batsman at last year’s Twenty20 World Cup, was ruled out of this month’s series against Ireland and England after failing to meet CWI’s fitness standards.

“This is an individual thing. As an individual and a professional, you’re supposed to pride yourself on being fit, pride yourself on performance, and pride yourself on doing what is necessary for the team, and when these things tend to happen, I’m sure it doesn’t bode well with yourself,” Pollard said.

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