New Delhi: The Mumbai Indians stalwart Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League on Tuesday. He donned the Mumbai jersey for 13 seasons. Post-retirement, the franchise roped in Pollard as a batting coach for the upcoming season.
Moments after he announced his retirement, many of Pollard’s colleagues took to their social media handles and wished him for his outstanding stint for Mumbai Indians. His former Mumbai colleague Hardik Pandya came up with a heartwarming wish for him. He wrote," My Polly, I couldn't have asked for a better mentor and friend. Playing alongside you on the field has been one of the best experiences of my career so far. Never a dull moment. I wish you the best for your new role. Knowing you the way I do, there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed at your new role and continue to inspire another generation of fearless cricketers. Thank you for everything my brother, good luck, and see you soon @kieron.pollard55.
Pollard started playing IPL back in 2010 and has played 189 games and has 3,412 runs at a strike rate of 147.32 in his kitty. The West Indian giant has also taken 69 wickets with his gentle medium pace.
Earlier, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma too congratulated him and wrote, “Big man, big impact and always played with heart. A true MI legend @kieron.pollard55.”
Kieron Pollard issued a statement and said, “It hasn’t been the easiest decision to make as I intend to keep playing for a few more years, but following discussions with Mumbai Indians I have a franchise that has achieved so much that needs to transition and if I’m no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either. ‘Once an MI always an MI’. 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.”