Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran to play together for Mumbai Indians in a blockbuster move
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Ahead of their upcoming season in the ILT20, the MI Emirates have added the two West Indies players, Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran, as wildcards in the fourth season. After the Major League Cricket and the previous season in ILT20, this will be another time that these two will play for the same franchise on a Global platform.
The International League T20, ILT20, marked the MI Emirates' win of the title in 2024, when Nicholas Pooran led them, and Kieron Pollard was also part of the squad. The team roster is completed ahead of the much-anticipated season. The pre-season is about to begin anytime soon, and the Emirates will set their sights on defending the trophy.
Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran join MI Emirates as wildcards
MI Emirates have added the destructive match-winner from the West Indies, Kieron Pollard, as he continues his legacy for the Mumbai Indians franchise across several global leagues. After playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL throughout his career, he now stars for them in the MLC as well as the ILT20.
The legendary cricketer has won 18 T20 titles in his career and remains one of the greatest minds in the shortest format of the game. On the other hand, they have also called in Nicholas Pooran into the MI Emirates lineup.
Pooran led MI Emirates to their first ILT20 title in 2024, and the two West Indies big-hitters have further joined hands to win the MLC for MI New York in 2023 and 2025, respectively. The two have been part of the MI Emirates squad over the past three seasons of the ILT20.
Pollard and Pooran's record in the ILT20
Kieron Pollard, the legendary T20 all-rounder, has amassed 14000+ runs across different leagues throughout his career. Having played for MI Emirates in the ILT20, he has amassed 660 runs in 22 games.
Pollard scored 394 runs in 10 games in 2022/23 with an average of nearly 80. Next in 2023/24, he scored 84 runs, averaging 42, and then further added 182 runs, averaging over 30 in ILT20 2024/25.
Nicholas Pooran has given more of a reason to celebrate, scoring 300+ runs every season. Pooran scored 355, 354, and 301 runs over the three seasons in 31 matches.
All Signings for MI Emirates ahead of Fourth ILT20 season
The headline for the MI Emirates was the inclusion of West Indies batter Andre Fletcher for a mammoth 260,000 USD for the fourth consecutive season, while English all-rounder Jordan Thompson and pacers Naveen-ul-Haq and Chris Woakes strengthened their bowling deck.
Muhammad Rohid was retained using an RTM for USD 140,000. Jonny Bairstow, the Englishman, was included as a replacement, and Kamindu Mendis was pre-signed by the Emirates. Shakib Al Hasan was their last-minute exclusion before wrapping up the auction.
Full Squad for MI Emirates: Muhammad Rohid, Jordan Thompson, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Andre Fletcher, Nosthush Kenjige, Mohamed Shafeeq, Zain Ul Abidin, Usman Khan, Ackeem Auguste, Arab Gul, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Tajinder Dhillon, Zahoor Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kamindu Mendis, Romario Shepherd, Tom Banton, Muhammad Waseem, Chris Woakes, and Jonny Bairstow.
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