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Mumbai Indians (MI) have been one of the most successful franchises of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) alongside Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Both sides have won five trophies each. The Blues, after a poor last season, have removed Mahela Jayawardene as the head coach and appointed their very own former West Indies batter Kieron Pollard as the new head coach.
Mumbai Indians have not been at their very best since Rohit Sharma was removed as the captain of the side. The side has failed to qualify for the playoffs in the last two of the three seasons. Under Hardik Pandya, they have really struggled to get back to their very best, finishing 10th and 9th in the 2024 and 2026 seasons, respectively.
Kieron Pollard shares special message to MI fans
Kieron Pollard, after being appointed as the head coach of MI, has shared a special message to the fans. He stated that the MI fans are still the most loyal, and the ‘MI Paltan’, as the fans are called, have showcased their passion for the franchise and created lots of memories together. Pollard looks forward to respecting the badge, and MI will be back to its best again.
He said (as quoted by NDTV), "We acknowledge that you are still the most loyal fans to us, the Paltan crew, and hopefully we can continue to show that passion that you have seen over the years, and we can relive some of those memories with some of the new generation cricketers."
"We look forward to playing with the badge. We look forward to having that fire in our belly, and hopefully see a fearless Mumbai Indians once again," Pollard said in a video posted on the franchise's social media accounts on Saturday.
"My first task is understanding what needs to be done": Kieron Pollard on first task as MI coach
Kieron Pollard replied when asked about the first task as the MI head coach. He stated that the first job will be to understand what are the things that is to be done to bring back the old spirit and the energy of the team. He also revealed that the blue flags should be flying high and there should not be many red or yellow flags.
"When you say the first task, I think my first task is understanding what needs to be done. Then when you get into that, bring that spirit and that energy to talk about that. When you walk into Wankhede Stadium, you're not seeing the yellows and the reds and stuff like that."
"You want to see that blue flag flying and you want to see that passion and spirit from the fans and that can only come firstly from us. So that's where all work sort of starts in terms of understanding what we are playing for and who we are playing for. We recognize the fact that we have not been where we wanted to be in the last couple of years. So there's no hiding from that."
Kieron Pollard explains MI's strength
Kieron Pollard, speaking further on the video, stated that the management will ensure to play for the badge and to put the team above the respective individuals. Team bonding has been the power of the franchise, and they will go back a little in the past to understand what it means.
"But what's going to happen is that we're going to try our best now to ensure that we continue to play for that badge, the team above self, and then ensure that when the opposition comes, it's something that they remembered from the past. Yes, it's history, but sometimes in order to go forward, you have to go back a little bit and understand. I think that's where it's going to start," he added.
