Kieron Pollard announces retirement from IPL, set to become Mumbai Indians’ batting coach next season

West Indies legend Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), hours ahead of the retention deadline on Tuesday (November 15). Pollard is all set to return to Mumbai Indians next season in a different role as he will serve as the batting coach for the franchise in IPL 2023.

One of the greatest servants of the franchise over the years, Pollard joined Mumbai Indians in 2010 and went on to become one of the legends in the IPL. He played an instrumental role in Mumbai Indians’ all five title-winning campaigns under captain Rohit Sharma and has been one of the most consistent performers for the franchise.

The former West Indies skipper spent 12 seasons with Mumbai Indians amassing 3412 runs and picking up 69 wickets in 189 matches for the five-time champions. He also captained the team in regular skipper Rohit’s absence on a few occasions and was part of the leadership group at the franchise.

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“This is not an emotional goodbye to MI, however, as I have agreed to take up the role of batting coach in the IPL as well as play with MI Emirates. This next chapter of my career is genuinely exciting and allows me to transition myself too from playing to coaching,” Pollard said in his retirement note.

Pollard has decided to call time on his IPL career but will continue plying his trade in other T20 leagues across the globe. He has been roped in by MI Emirates in the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20) and will be seen in action during the competition next year. MI Emirates is a franchise owned by Reliance Industries, the owners of Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

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Pollard was one of the four players retained by Mumbai Indians ahead of the mega auction last year along with the likes of captain Rohit Sharma, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and star batter Suryakumar Yadav. However, he failed to live up to the expectations in IPL 2022 as he managed only 144 runs in eleven matches at an average of less than 15.