Kieron Pollard named as new West Indies ODI and T20I captain

Pollard takes over the ODI side despite not having played an ODI since October 2016. Commenting on the announcement, Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt argued that Pollard was the "right man" to take over.

"He [Holder] is a very important force and is still going to be our red-ball captain," said Skerritt. "Holder will now compete for a place in Pollad's team and use this as an opportunity to become a better cricketer. Pollard is the right man at the right time to take our white-ball teams forward. What impressed me the most about Pollard was his keenness and commitment to give back to the game."

Pollard takes over the ODI role from Holder who has captained the side since 2015. Holder has captained in 86 of the 107 ODIs that he has played in. West Indies finished in ninth place in the group stage of this year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, winning just two of their nine games in the competition. Only Afghanistan finished below them in the table.

The new skipper does have a heap of experience to draw upon in his new role. Since his ODI debut in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Pollard has played in 101 ODI games. In recent years, it is in the shortest format of the game that Pollard has built up a wealth of experience. No cricketer has played more than his 451 T20 matches across the world and he was also a part of West Indies' T20 World Cup winning campaign in 2012.

Commenting on his appointment, Pollard said: “I’m truly honoured to be appointed captain of the West Indies and I would like to thank Cricket West Indies’ Board of Directors for placing their faith and confidence in me. I can’t wait to work with the coaching staff and players as we start building towards future World Cups and give the fans more reasons to get behind the team.”

His first outing as captain will be in the three T20Is and three ODIs against Afghanistan in India in November this year.