Former West Indies cricketer Kieron Pollard has retired from IPL. The all-rounder has become the batting coach for Mumbai Indians.
Pollard’s association with Mumbai Indians, one of the most enduring relationships between a franchise and a player in the IPL, has come to an end.
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have released Kieron Pollard, their most senior player, to bring to a close a 13-year association that started in 2010, when Pollard was bought for an undisclosed sum via the tie-breaker rule.
Pollard is part of a small set of players who have played for only one franchise over their entire IPL careers. Among players to have played at least 100 matches, the others in this group are Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008), Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians from 2013) and Lasith Malinga (who had two stints at Mumbai).
During the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India, Pollard’s explosive hitting, electrify fielding and performance with the ball caught the collective attention of IPL franchises.
At the 2010 auction, he placed his base price at US$200,000, with four franchises Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings, Royals Challengers and Knight Riders placing the highest bid for him at US$750,000. Pollard became the first player in the IPL to be bought through the silent tie-breaker rule.
In a conversation with ESPNcricinfo in 2010, a day after Mumbai paid him an estimated seven-figure sum, Pollard had said,
“sustain what I’ve started as there would be big expectations of me – but cricket is a funny game, it can go anyway; I’m just going to go there and play my best.”
Kieron Pollard was earlier retained by Mumbai Indians for INR 6 crore. Pollard played 11 matches and scored 144 runs for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022.
former West Indies international failed to fire for Mumbai Indians in the 15th edition of the IPL 2022 as the Rohit Sharma-led side capped off their worst season. The five-time IPL winners finished 10th in the 10-team tournament last season.
Rohit and Co. suffered 10 defeats and recorded only four wins in 14 matches at the IPL 2022.