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Kieron Pollard was always destined to be a six-hitting powerhouse.

He made his T20I debut for West Indies on June 20, 2008 but did not have a chance to bat for the first three games of his T20I career.

When he finally walked out to bat at no.6 in his fourth T20I game, against New Zealand, he stepped down the track and casually flicked off-spinner Jeetan Patel for a six over mid-wicket off the first ball he faced.

In hindsight, we can say it was typical Polly in action. No time needed to settle in or assess the wicket, he had that knack of attacking straightaway. It is what made him one of the greatest white-ball cricketers of this generation.

On April 20th, 2022, Polly announced that he would retire from international cricket after 15 years.

A T20 World Cup trophy, 4275 runs and 97 wickets in 324 matches, 63 of them as the captain, is enough proof of what a giant the man was for the West Indies.

Polly scored three centuries for the West Indies, all of them in ODIs, the first of which came against India on December 11, 2011.

Chasing a target of 268, the Windies were struggling at 36-4 when Polly walked in at no.6 and hit a 110-ball 119.

Despite losing partners at the other end, he continued attacking and carried Windies to 233 before he was dismissed as the last wicket, once more going for the big hit.

The fact that you could never write him off was most evident in that seismic T20 World Cup victory for the Windies in 2012.

After a lean run in the tournament, Polly came to the party against Australia in the semi-finals. Walking in at 140-3 in the 16th over, the big man unleashed a 15-ball 38 and by the time he was dismissed off the final ball, had carried the Windies to 205.

He then bowled a solitary over but went on to take the wickets of the dangerous George Bailey, who had scored a 29-ball 63, and Pat Cummins in the same over. The Windies then went on to win the final to lift the trophy.

Six years after making his national team debut, Polly captained West Indies for the first time in an ODI against India at Kingston after regular captain Dwayne Bravo injured his groin. Of course he made a winning start, with the Windies triumphing by one wicket.

Polly captained the Windies in T20Is for the first time in 2019 and needless to say, won that match by 30 runs. He scored 32 and picked two wickets in three overs.

Another record came Polly’s way on March 4, 2021 when he became just the third man in international cricket history to hit six sixes in an over.

He came in at no. 5 after Akila Dananjaya had picked a hat-trick. In the sixth over, Dananjaya returned in search of more wickets.

Instead, Polly carted him across the ground, clearing the ropes for six consecutive balls and wrote his name into the record books.

He played his final international match for the Windies, a T20I vs India on February 6, 2022 as the captain before announcing his retirement from the international arena on April 20th.

It was a wonderful career for a decade and a half and the international stage will miss you, Polly!