One of the strongest associations between a player and franchise in the IPL came to an end as Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from the IPL, amid the reports of the Mumbai Indians having decided to release the all-rounder due to his form.
Pollard in his statement said that he “cannot see myself playing against MI either” and hence instead of going into the auction, made up his mind to retire from the tournament.
“Once an MI always an MI.”
“It hasn’t been the easiest decision to make as I will keep playing for a few more years, but I understand that this incredible franchise which has achieved so much needs to transition and if I’m no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either,” Pollard said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
However, Kieron Pollard will be part of the Mumbai Indians setup in IPL 2023 despite his retirement.
In his statement, Pollard also confirmed that he has accepted the role of the batting coach at MI and will seamlessly get into it. Pollard will also play for the MI franchise – MI Emirates – in the UAE league (ILT20) next year.
Prior to the IPL 2022 auction, Pollard was retained as one of the four players by the Mumbai Indians for INR 6 crore. However, he had a poor IPL 2022 season – 11 games, 144 runs at an average of 14 with a strike rate of 107. He was a pale shadow of what he’d been in the previous years and was clearly on a decline.
The 35-year-old then underwent a knee operation and his return in the CPL 2022 was also disappointing – an average of 14 and a strike rate of 98.
But, now, even though as Pollard won’t take the field for MI, he will take up the responsibility of teaching the art of finishing to the other youngsters in the squad – Dewald Brevis, Tim David, Tristan Stubbs – who already have performed well at different levels in 2022.
Praise must be given to the MI owners here too who believe in keeping bonds with players even after they have parted ways. For they have always roped back some of their former players after their retirement in some capacity or other. From Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to Zaheer Khan, Parthiv Patel, Lasith Malinga, and now Pollard – MI not only claims to be “One Family” but lives by it.
