Kieron Pollard retires from the IPL and takes on new responsibilities with the Mumbai Indians: ‘I can’t imagine myself playing against MI.’

Kieron Pollard of the West Indies has announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League after 13 years with the five-time champion Mumbai Indians. Pollard decided after failing to see himself in MI’s plans as MI entered a transition period. The all-rounder went on to say that his devotion to the franchise is so strong that he cannot imagine himself representing any other team in the IPL. Having said that, Pollard’s time at MI is not over, with the former West Indies captain taking over as the team’s batting coach.

Pollard joined the Mumbai Indians in 2010 after the franchise was impressed by his explosive hitting and all-around ability during the 2009 Champions League T20 in India. Pollard was signed by MI for $750,000 in the IPL auction that followed, after competing against three other teams: Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Kolkata Knight Riders. With Mumbai Indians, the West Indies all-rounder won five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. He also served as captain of the team in six games, four of which Mumbai won.

Pollard was retained by MI for 6 crores last year after being retained ahead of the 2018 season, but after a below-par season earlier this year in which he scored only 144 runs, the plug was pulled.

Only a few IPL players have appeared in 100 or more games for a single franchise. Pollard has made the most appearances for a single club, having played in 189 IPL matches for the Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli leads the list with his Royal Challengers Bangalore record, while others include Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians from 2013), and Lasith Malinga (who had two stints at Mumbai). In those 189 games, he scored 3412 runs, hit 16 fifties, and took 69 wickets, becoming one of the league’s most prolific all-rounders.

Read Keiron Pollard’s complete statement..