Kieron Pollard retires from IPL, appointed as MI's batting coach
West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard has announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pollard, who served Mumbai Indians as a premier all-rounder for over a decade, called time on his IPL career on Tuesday. He was involved in each of the five title-winning campaigns of MI. Pollard will now take up the role of batting coach with them. Here are further details.
Can't see myself playing against MI: Pollard
A look at his IPL stats
Pollard represented Mumbai Indians (MI) in 13 IPL seasons (2010-2022). Although he had been under the scanner due to his poor form, the star all-rounder finishes with a terrific record. He slammed 3,412 runs from 189 matches at a strike rate of 147.32 in the cash-rich league. Pollard also took 69 wickets with the best match haul of 4/44. He also captained MI sporadically.
Highest-capped overseas player in IPL history
Pollard finishes as the highest-capped overseas player in IPL history (189). The all-rounder also clinched five IPL titles with the franchise, the most for any overseas player in the tournament. Pollard also won two Champions League T20 titles.
Pollard averaged just 14.40 in IPL 2022
Pollard, who was retained by MI for Rs. 6 crore ahead of the 2022 season, did not meet the expectations. He mustered 144 runs from 11 matches at 14.40. His strike rate also plunged during the season (107.46). With the ball, Pollard picked just four wickets with an economy rate of 8.93. MI finished last on the points table in the 2022 season.
Over 100 matches for one franchise
Pollard is one of the few players to have featured in over 100 matches for just one franchise in the IPL (MI). Virat Kohli (RCB), Sunil Narine (KKR), Jasprit Bumrah (MI), and Lasith Malinga (MI) are the others with this feat.
Pollard retired from international cricket in April
Pollard retired from international cricket in April this year. In a career that spanned over a decade, the hard-hitting all-rounder played 123 ODIs and 101 T20Is. Pollard scored 2,706 ODI runs at 26.01 (three centuries and 13 fifties). Pollard has also scalped 55 wickets in this format. He tallied 1,569 T20I runs at a strike rate of 135.14 (42 wickets).
Only cricketer with over 600 T20 appearances
Earlier this year, Pollard became the first-ever cricketer to feature in 600 T20 matches. The 35-year-old achieved the milestone in The Hundred. Pollard made his T20 debut in July 2006 for Trinidad and Tobago in Stanford 20/20. He is the second-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket, having slammed 11,915 runs at a strike rate of 150.25. Pollard is behind Chris Gayle (14,562).
