BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive Johnny Grave has admitted to being surprised by the timing of Kieron Pollard’s retirement from international cricket.

The 34-year-old Trinidadian ended his 2½ year tenure as West Indies white-ball captain when he called time on his career earlier this month with the Caribbean side already preparing for the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup in Australia next October.

“I thought he would continue at least until the T20 World Cup in Australia,” Grave said.

“Obviously the 50-over game is that longer format, and the older you get, the more difficult it gets to play, and that may not have surprised me if he had called it a day after the T20 World Cup later this year.

“Certainly, my hope was that he would’ve continued through to that 2023 50-over World Cup and then call it a day.

“But none of us can plan these things and the individuals know their bodies and where their heads are at, in terms of having the energy to take the team forward with the leadership it requires.”

Pollard, currently campaigning in the Indian Premier League, made the announcement via popular social networking service Instagram, indicating the decision had been made following “careful deliberation”.

The development came as a shock to the regional and international cricket fraternity, especially with Pollard also expected to lead the West Indies squad on tours of the Netherlands and Pakistan in June.

“He called me on the morning, Antigua time, and explained that he had been deliberating over the decision for a good few weeks, but thought it was in his best interests and West Indies cricket to retire from international cricket,” Grave told Starcom Radio’s Mason and Guest cricket show.

“And I just thanked him for his services and wished him all the very best in the remainder of his career.

“I think he was at peace with the decision and with a [T20] World Cup this year and a 50-over World Cup next year, we’ve got some time and a significant number of fixtures to plan a move forward for those two global events under new leadership on the field.”

Grave said Pollard had played a key role in developing young players and revitalising the squad during his time in charge.

“Polly came in, in difficult circumstances in 2019 on the back of a disappointing 50-over World Cup, and he’s led the team in both formats with great leadership to bring everyone together and mentoring those younger players,” the Englishman noted.

“Obviously we had a disappointing COVID World Cup in Dubai, [but] with a good performance against England in the T20s in the early part of this year. With so many young players coming through, Kieron thought it was time to relinquish the role.”

Grave said he expected Pollard’s successor to be named shortly, once the Desmond Haynes-led selection panel made a recommendation through Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams to CWI’s board.