IPL 2023: ‘Polly,’ the Mumbai Indians batting coach, backs his men

Kieron Pollard, back in IPL 2023 in his new avatar as the batting coach of Mumbai Indians, had been part of many a ‘El Clasico’ of the league between his old team and Chennai Super Kings.

As he prepares to take his place in their dugout at the Wanhkede Stadium this time on Saturday, the gentle giant from the West Indies had no qualms about admitting that he has a far easier job now.

The Trinidadian, whose retirement from international cricket at 34 early last year came as a bit of shock for the cricket fraternity (he later retired from IPL just ahead of the retention deadline for the teams), said he could only feel sorry for Rohit Sharma & Co for the pressure they will be under in such a high stakes game. ‘’Yes, there will be a lot of pressure on them, I feel sorry for them. It’s a big game with lot of expectations riding on both sides. However, it’s all about keeping calm and watching that white kokkaburra ball. I certainly will want to see how my batters to take on DJ (Bravo) & co and wait to see who comes out singing,’’ said Pollard, who prefers to be still called ‘Polly’ by the players – most of whom were his teammates till last season.

A one-franchise man since 2010, Pollard had been a major cog in the wheel behind the Mumbai Indians’ phenomenal success story in the IPL, having made 187 appearances for them and being a part of all five champion teams so far. His awesome hitting lower down the order, where he was referred to as a part of the dynamo with the Pandya brothers for their ability to set a total behind the opponents’ reach or strike down a steep target along with his shrewd seam-up bowling, had tilted the balance for the Mumbai Paltan in countless matches. The MI management, which believed in the benefits of continuity much like the Chennai outfit, awarded him the coaching job with an eye to boost the sagging morale after two extremely poor last seasons by their standards.

Speaking at the pre-match media conference, Pollard felt there was no sense of regret about calling time on his playing career while one of peers and a longtime rival, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still at it. ‘’It’s a personal choice. When I took a decision, obviously a lot of thought had gone into it. Dhoni had brought the game grace and fortunately or unfortunately, whichever part of India he plays in, he’s going to have a home crowd. We saw the same impact when Sachin Tendulkar played for us,’’ he said, before adding: ‘’However, we cannot afford to get distracted by that and our job will be to negate any kind of threat that he may pose for us,’’ he said.

The five-time champions failed to start this season on a winning note, having come in for some serious punishment in the hands of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis as Royal Challengers Bangalore romped home by eight wickets. Pollard, however, feels it’s just the beginning of a long season and it’s no time for ‘’soul-searcing’’ yet and fiercely defended his batters, especially questions on Suryakumar Yadav’s form.

 ‘’We are not at all concerned about his form in the team set-up, it’s you people who keep writing about it. You are forgetting the kind of things that he has done over the last 18 months for Indian cricket,’’ he said.

The Mumbai Indians, in the past, were often known to be slow starters. Can they shake the shake off memories of the first match mauling and flex their muscles at their Wankhede fortress?