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Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh recently said that Kieron Pollard was the backbone of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Pollard played 189 matches for Mumbai Indians across 12 seasons, from 2010 to 2022. With 3412 runs at a strike rate of 147.32, Pollard is still the second highest run-scorer in the five-time IPL champions' history. He also picked up 69 wickets at an economy rate of 8.79.
Kieron Pollard was released by Mumbai Indians last November in an attempt to revamp their core squad. The former West Indies captain was later named as the batting coach of MI.
While praising Pollard as a match-winner, Harbhajan Singh called him the MS Dhoni of Mumbai Indians. Harbhajan said:
"Pollard was a great player and the backbone of Mumbai Indians. Even if the match was out of hands but till he was present at the crease, there was a belief that he can make things possible which looked impossible. He was our Dhoni who could exert pressure on any bowler while he batted."
Harbhajan Singh shares his favourite Kieron Pollard IPL memory
Kieron Pollard was a brilliant fielder in the deep, who took plenty of breathtaking catches in his IPL career. His reach surprised many batters who couldn't get the ball past Pollard in their attempts to clear the boundary ropes.
Pollard took 103 catches in 189 games for Mumbai Indians. He has the third most catches in the IPL behind Virat Kohli (105) and Suresh Raina (109).
Speaking about one particular catch, which Harbhajan Singh also described as his favourite memory of Kieron Pollard, the former Indian spinner said:
"My favourite memory with him (Pollard) was when he took a catch of (Kevon) Cooper off my bowling in Ahmedabad (IPL 2014). I bowled the 'Doosra' and he smashed it straight while playing on the backfoot. Pollard jumped and grabbed it in one hand and then went out, threw the ball up in the air, and again dived in to take the catch."
Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket in April 2022 after representing West Indies in 123 ODIs and 101 T20Is.
