Former Indian player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra feels that the Mumbai Indians (MI) will release West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. However, Pollard, who recently announced his international retirement, had a forgettable run with the bat this season. He played 11 IPL 2022 matches where he scored a mere 144 runs at an average of 14.40 and a strike rate of 107.46 as well.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: “I think we have seen the last of Kieron Pollard. ₹6 crore will be released if they don’t retain him. I think they can let Murugan Ashwin (₹1.6 crore) go as well. I am not sure about Jaydev Unadkat (₹1.3 crore) but they can definitely say bye bye to Tymal Mills (₹1.5 crore).”
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He continued: “He is absolutely brilliant. He was given a chance to bat up the order and delivered. He is a future investment. He has a very good temperament and it doesn’t seem like he will have second-season blues. Also, Mumbai did not show enough confidence in Tim David. But when they did, he showcased his talent.”
Notably, Tilak Varma ended the season with 397 runs in 14 matches which came at an average of 36.09 and a strike rate of 131.02 as well. David amassed 186 runs in eight games at a stunning strike rate of 216.28. While talking about Mumbai Indians’ squad for IPL 2022, Chopra added that the batting is in good shape but they lack all-rounders.
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“There are no issues with batting as such. The problem is with the lack of all-rounders. It’s a very one-dimensional team. Batters don’t bowl, bowlers don’t bat. That is where they were pegged back. Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, and Pollard used to do the job earlier but that is not happening now,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
