Pollard: The booing is boring now

Kieron Pollard has reacted strongly to being booed by the crowd during the CPL 2025 final, which his team Trinbago Knight Riders won after beating hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence.

"It [Winning the CPL] means a lot," Pollard said on Sunday. "But one thing I'll say. There's three countries in the Caribbean where we have played, the booing is boring now. We are still the laughing stock of cricket in the West Indies. You have a guy who has represented the entire Caribbean over a period of time, putting them on the map in the format. Yet, we still don't appreciate him. I'm not bitter but I feel sorry, not for myself.

"Kieron Pollard plays cricket and that's what I know. I got the opportunity, God has given me a talent, I have represented my family and my country. I don't politicise things, I do it because I love the game and I love the sport. This means a lot - five-time champions. Going around the Caribbean at 38 years old...but we're still the laughing stock of cricket in the world."

Pollard has received hostile receptions from crowds in other countries in the Caribbean as well. In CPL 2024, he was booed at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia during his unbeaten half-century for TKR, despite having captained St Lucia in the past.

With this CPL triumph, Pollard (18) surpassed his good friend and current TKR coach Dwayne Bravo (17) to become the player with most T20 titles in history. At 38, Pollard also scooped up the Player of the Tournament award for his 383 runs in 11 innings at an average of over 50 and a strike rate of nearly 175. Nobody hit more sixes than Pollard's 36 this season.

While Pollard was tight-lipped about his CPL future as a player - he has already retired from the IPL and forayed into coaching there - he confirmed that he will play in the upcoming season of the ILT20 in the UAE.

"I can't tell you the future," Pollard told Daren Ganga in a separate post-match interview. "I can only deal with what's in front of me. I have a flight coming up and I'm getting home to the kids. I'm just trying to enjoy some time at home. I've been on the road for the entire year. So, I think I owe it to them. Let's see what happens. At the end of the year, I'll still be playing in the ILT20 in Dubai. So that's the only thing I can tell you at this point of time."