West Indies legend Kieron Pollard brought an end to his glorious 13-year-long IPL career as he announced his retirement with a heartfelt note. On Tuesday, Pollard left the cricket fans in shock as he said that he had taken the call to retire after having had discussions with the Mumbai Indians over his future. His decision came hours ahead of the retention deadline wherein 10 teams announced their list of released players.
Though Pollard has ended his 13-year-long association with Mumbai Indians as a player, however, he will continue his association with Mumbai Indians as he will return as their batting coach in IPL 2023. During his time with Mumbai Indians, he scored 3412 runs and picked up 69 wickets.
Treasured by Mumbai Indians fans and cricket fans, Pollard is a global icon of the game. Ever since the news of his retirement came out, social media has been buzzing with reactions and tributes for the legendary cricketer.
Among many, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya also took to his social media and hailed Pollard for his contribution. Hardik, who has shared the dressing room with Pollard for a long time and shares a great bond of friendship with Pollard, poured his heart-out as he thanked the West Indies great. He wrote:
“My Polly, I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor and friend. Playing alongside you on the field has been one of the best experiences of my career so far. Never a dull moment. I wish you the best for your new role.”
He added: “Knowing you the way I do, there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed in your new role and continue to inspire another generation of fearless cricketers. Thank you for everything my brother, good luck and see you soon ❤️ 👊 @KieronPollard55”
Check out the Tweet:
Knowing you the way I do, there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed in your new role and continue to inspire another generation of fearless cricketers. Thank you for everything my brother, good luck and see you soon ❤️ 👊 @KieronPollard55 pic.twitter.com/YVbREp3FPr
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) November 16, 2022
Here are the players released by Mumbai Indians:
Kieron Pollard, Anmolpreet Singh, Aryan Juyal, Basil Thampi, Daniel Sams, Fabian Allen, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Murugan Ashwin, Rahul Buddhi, Riley Meredith, Sanjay Yadav, Tymal Mills
Here are the players retained by Mumbai Indians:
Rohit Sharma (C), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal
