Kieron Pollard sidelined from PSL 2020 with niggle

Kieron Pollard, the most experienced player in T20 cricket, has been ruled out of his PSL stint with Peshawar Zalmi due to a niggle in his right thigh. The West Indies captain, who recently reached 10,000 runs in his 500th game in the shortest format, was initially slated to join the Peshawar squad after his international commitments. However, he has now been sidelined, having experienced "tightness" in his right quad.

Fellow West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite had been named as Pollard's temporary replacement, and has already played two matches this season. In the wake of Pollard's injury, Brathwaite will now stay with Peshawar's squad for the rest of the PSL.

"I'm sorry I can't be there in person this year but the team has some inspirational characters leading the charge and I'm sure can give Daren [Sammy] his first trophy as a head coach," Pollard said in a statement released by the PSL.

England allrounder Lewis Gregory can also be a like-for-like replacement for Pollard in the XI. He had made a splash on his PSL debut, taking 4 for 24 in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Lahore Qalandars.

In all, Pollard has featured in 13 matches for Peshawar, scoring 284 runs and taking five wickets. Earlier this week, Daren Sammy had stepped down from captaincy and took over a new role as head coach-cum-player for Peshawar.

Peshawar are currently placed second on the points table, behind table-toppers Multan, with four wins in eight games.