‘Sorry Universe Boss’ – Pollard surpasses Gayle despite embracing finisher role

Kieron Pollard: The Leading Run-Scorer in T20 History

Kieron Pollard has spoken of his pride at becoming the leading run-scorer in T20 history from a middle-order role, although he offered a little apology to former team-mate Chris Gayle for knocking him off top spot after 12 years.

Pollard also reflected on the “leap of faith” players such as himself and Gayle took in the earlier years of the format. Only 22 of Pollard’s 653 T20 innings have come from higher than No. 4, while 286 innings have come from Nos. 6 and 7 combined.

Pollard’s Achievement

But now he has 14,582 runs at a strike rate of 151.12, although his knock of 100* for MI New York against Washington Freedom (WF) in the MLC 2026 game on Saturday was just the second century of his career.

“Surpassing Chris Gayle, someone we looked up to in the West Indies over a period of time, is special,” Pollard said at the post-match presentation. “He has done great things in all formats of cricket, so again, sorry Universe Boss, but we are both at the top there.

“Having said that, batting at No. 6 or 7 is very difficult. Somebody needs to do the dirty work, though, and while everyone rushes to bat at the top of the order, a cricket match involves 11 people, and everyone has a role to play. I guess my role over time was to finish matches, and I embraced that. Once you embrace the challenge and practice for it, good things come.”

A Career Milestone

When Pollard reached 81 against WF on Saturday, in what was the 736th match of a mighty T20 career, he overtook Gayle, who had been in the top position since 2014. Recently, it had become a race between Pollard, Alex Hales and potentially Jos Buttler as to who would eventually move to No. 1.

But fittingly, it was Pollard who got there with a six, albeit his century ended in defeat. Pollard said such milestones had been far from his mind when he started but that there was satisfaction in seeing how T20 has changed the sport after the likes of himself, Gayle and Dwayne Bravo faced “ridicule” for opting to prioritise the format.

Reflections on a Career

“Hell, no, I’d be lying if I said that [scoring this amount of runs was on my mind]. But what I’m proud of, individually and with all those other guys you mentioned like Chris, is that we took a leap of faith and we got ridiculed a lot for it,” Pollard said. “Now you live to see guys at a young age even retiring from international cricket to play franchise cricket because again cricket is not just a sport anymore; it’s a business.

“One thing I’ve understood in life about human beings is that when you do something different, change is something we’re not really accustomed to. I’m happy that I’ve lived the day to see it, and I hope everyone who criticised us over the years can sit back and say, ‘Cheers’. We don’t need a sorry. Respect each and every format of the game, but understand that just like technology, everything is changing.”

Looking to the Future

Pollard, 39, now splits his career between playing and coaching, with off-field roles in the IPL and Hundred as well as having worked with the England white-ball teams. He said it had given him another perspective on the game – “I have to go out and do what I say,” he said – and didn’t want to put a timeline on how long he would continue playing, citing 41-year-old Faf du Plessis as his “inspiration”.

“I think it’s more about personal pride, motivation, and wanting to play the sport, and wanting to help the youngsters in each and every team I play for,” he said. “Once that desire is there, I’m going to continue. It’s not going to be at the expense of any young person who wants to take the mantle. For me, I’m just enjoying the moment.

“Once you keep yourself in shape from a physical perspective, the muscle memory of cricket will always be there. After the IPL, I went home, took three or four days off, and [then] for two-and-a-half weeks I was pounding it early in the morning. Like I said, personal pride is more important to me than anything. I’m not going to come to a tournament underprepared and just say I’m going to play on legacy. That’s not the right example to set for the youngsters coming up.”