The incredibly huge giant from the West Indies, Kieron Pollard, was axed from the XI of the five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) during their group stage game against the reigning champions Chennai Super Kings(CSK). This came as a complete and astonishment to every cricket spectator, supporter, professional.
The captain of the Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma, said before the match that Kieron Pollard has been removed from the playing lineup. He also stated that the competition’s most successful team is now focusing on the “Future.” It is important to point out that MI is struggling tremendously in this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With only two victories to their name, the five-time defending champions are presently in the last position in the points standings.
The 35-year-old has become one of the best players from a foreign land to compete in the most competitive league that is structured on franchises. Over the course of his career, the tremendous batter has single-handedly won a significant number of matches for the Men in Blue & Gold
In terms of his performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kieron Pollard has appeared in a total of 189 games and scored 3412 runs at a respectable average of 28.67 runs per game. In addition, Pollard has recorded a total of 16 fiftys’ scores thus far throughout the competition. He has taken a combined 69 wickets with the bowling ball and has been responsible for some really important overs.
Unfortunately, during this campaign, the player who once captained the West Indies has been unable to keep performing for MI. Throughout the course of a season, he has also not been good enough to score over 25 runs and has only scooped up 4 wickets.
Pollard one of the main contributors to MI’s success over the years: Zaheer Khan
The five-time world champions are now weighing their options to find a suitable replacement for the all-rounder in the near future. As a direct consequence of this, Tim David has the potential to be included in the starting eleven on a more regular basis for the remaining fixtures in replacement of Pollard.
In the meantime, Rohit Sharma, the captain of MI, won the toss versus Chennai Super Kings and decided to field first. Their bowling squad put on a dominant performance, eliminating CSK from contention for the playoffs race with a swing and bounce. Even though there is no possibility to make it into the playoffs, the team will still do their best to win the rest of their games in the tournament.
“Pollard has been one of the main contributors to the success of this franchise over the years, he’s been part of the processes through and through. Like I mentioned, it is the last leg of the tournament, so that’s why a few new faces and as an individual and as a member of the core group, he (Pollard) was on board, it wasn’t easy on him but he made it easy for us. He has been a great team man and even today it was nice to see his contributions from the sidelines”, said Zaheer Khan at the post-match presentation.
“He’s been a stalwart for Mumbai, he came out and said that he’s okay with that. We are keeping one eye on what are the holes to be filled out for the next year” MI skipper Rohit Sharma on Pollard.
