West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard feels that although Chris Gayle's absence in the ODI series will be a factor but someone in the team will have to stand up and be counted in crunch situations.
"Of course (it will have an impact). Chris has been there for over 10 years now. He has been one of our main players, one of our main batsman. Yes, it is going to leave a hole. Yes it is going to leave a gap but life goes on," Pollard told the reporters during an interaction with reporters ahead of West Indies' tour opener against India A tomorrow.
"We all know he (Gayle) is not here. We left the Caribbean knowing that he is not going to be here. So someone has to take that mantle and put up their hand and take up that responsibility," Pollard said.
The 27-year-old expects the five-match ODI series to be a keenly contested one.
"It will be a keenly contested one. Obviously, we have played them in the last couple of years and we won a couple of games here so I am looking forward to series," he said.
The Trinidadian, who also plays for the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians said knowing the conditions here would come in handy.
"I won't say it is going to be an added advantage but it would give us an insight rather than just coming in blindly to the conditions. It is going to be keenly contested because both teams would know the strengths and the weaknesses of the players. That is something that we look forward to. We look forward to that challenge," he said.
He rated Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as one of the best finishers.
"They have some good players in their team. I would say they have one of the best finishers in the world as their leader and as a captain. We know we are up for a challenge," Pollard said.
Pollard said he is looking to score runs to book a spot in the World Cup squad.
"Obviously, it is a preparation for the World Cup but no one is guaranteed a place in the World Cup, so as an individual and as a player in the team you have to try and be consistent and try and score runs. So that is my aim," he said.
