Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard has admitted that IPL 2026 was a disappointing campaign for the five-time champions, but he made it clear the franchise will not react emotionally when deciding the future of the squad after their defeat to Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium.

MI ended their season with a 30-run loss on Sunday, a result that neatly reflected their struggles throughout the tournament. At one stage, Mumbai had Rajasthan Royals under pressure at 119/5, but the visitors allowed them to rebuild and post a competitive 205/8. In response, Mumbai briefly stayed in the hunt through useful contributions from Suryakumar Yadav, Will Jacks and captain Hardik Pandya, before another middle-order collapse saw them finish on 175/9.

The defeat summed up a frustrating season for the Mumbai Indians, who repeatedly found ways to lose momentum and eventually slipped to ninth place in the standings.

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Speaking after the match, Kieron Pollard refused to indulge in “what if” conversations and said the team must assess the season with a clear head rather than rush into emotional calls.

“To be honest, at the end of the season, you know, what if, if this had happened, if we had done this, if we had done that, if we had played this one, if we had… It’s a bit of that. And, you know, overall, it has been disappointing for all of us,” Kieron Pollard said. “You know, as a Mumbai Indians team, I’m sure the fans and everyone would have felt the same. And there’s no hiding, you know, from that.”

Questions have already been raised about whether Mumbai need a major squad rebuild, especially with senior names such as Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya unable to deliver consistently at key moments this season. However, Kieron Pollard stressed that any call on retentions, releases or possible changes will only come after proper evaluation.

“Again, that’s where better decision-making is going to come about. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this, you need to do this, you need to do that, I think that would be irresponsible from a management perspective,” he said.

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Pollard also dismissed the idea that Mumbai lacked depth in the middle order, pointing to Quinton de Kock, Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks as proven options already available in the squad.