Mumbai: West Indies coach Phil Simmons on Tuesday said the team would be banking heavily on skipper Kieron Pollard in the series-deciding third T20 International against India as his understanding of the pitch due to IPL exposure will be “invaluable” for the bowlers.
Pollard has played a lot at the Wankhede Stadium as he has been part of the Mumbai Indians IPL squad and Simmons said his experience will help the visiting bowlers.
“(Kieron) Pollard has played a lot at this venue, the others have not played that much. I think the experience which they have got from here is invaluable and especially the captain (Pollard), as he has been here for 10 years,” Simmons said in the pre-match press conference here.
“He knows things inside out and that will definitely help our bowlers mainly, there are a few youngsters in this format. It will definitely help,” he added.
There have been lot of dropped catches from both the sides and Simmons said there should be no excuses for fielding lapses.
“You will not win games if you drop them. The players will have to tell you if it is the lights or whether it is their execution or their position,” he said.
“…I do not like excuses. I think if you drop a catch it is your fault. You can blame the lights but I think we just have to keep working hard so we do not drop any,” the West Indies coach explained. (PTI)
