New Delhi: Former West Indies star all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who retired from international cricket in April earlier this year, continued to smash records. The legendary hard-hitting all-rounder became the first-ever cricketer (man or woman) to play 600 T20 matches in the history of the game. Pollard achieved this feat during the Manchester Originals vs London Spirits match of The Hundred tournament played at Lord's. Some cricketers' careers have ended even before scoring 600 runs in T20 cricket, but the Caribbean legend Pollard, who made his debut in international cricket in 2007, has played 600 T20 matches.
Pollard made sure to make the occasion memorable as he smashed an unbeaten 34 off just 11 balls with the help of a boundary and four sixes. The veteran has a stellar T20 career, scoring 11,723 runs in 600 T20 matches at an average of 31.34. His individual best performance is 104 runs. Pollard has scored a century and 56 fifties in this format and has taken 309 wickets with personal best bowling figures of 4 for 15.
Notably, Pollard has represented several T20 teams/franchises over the years, including his home team Trinidad and Tobago. Pollard represented Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers, and Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash League (BBL), and in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) he has been part of Dhaka Gladiators and Dhaka Dynamites. The star all-rounder has played for teams like Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL)
After Kieron Pollard, his compatriot Dwayne Bravo is at number two in terms of playing the most matches in T20 cricket. Bravo has played 543 T20 matches, while Pakistan's Shoaib Malik has played 472 T20 matches so far. Chris Gayle has played 463 matches and Ravi Bopara has played 426 matches for different franchises.