Pollard doesn't want to see 'yellows and reds', urges MI to put 'team above self'

Mumbai Indians' captain Hardik Pandya with teammate Suryakumar Yadav during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, in Jaipur. (PTI Photo)

Newly appointed Mumbai Indians head coach Kieron Pollard has admitted that the five-time IPL champions have not lived up to their fans' expectations in recent seasons. He said the first step towards getting back to their best is to accept where they have fallen short and work towards fixing it. Pollard, who was Mumbai Indians' batting coach for the last four IPL seasons, takes over from Mahela Jayawardene, who parted ways with the franchise last week. The former West Indies all-rounder has been associated with MI since IPL 2010, when he was signed as a player. Pollard was part of all five of Mumbai Indians' IPL title-winning campaigns in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. He also featured in the team's Champions League T20 triumphs in 2011 and 2013.

"We have not been as great as you (fans) want us to be and the first step to getting better is acknowledging, and we acknowledge that you are still the most loyal fans to us, the Paltan, and hopefully, we can continue to show that passion that you have seen over the years, and we can relive some of those memories with some of the new generation cricketers," Pollard said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians on their social media accounts on Saturday.

Pollard played 189 IPL matches, scoring 3,412 runs at a strike rate of 147.32 and taking 69 wickets. He played his last IPL season in 2022 before retiring from the league ahead of the 2023 edition and moving directly into the role of batting coach. Speaking about his priorities as head coach, Pollard said the team first needs to identify the areas that require improvement and bring back its identity at the Wankhede Stadium. He acknowledged that the franchise could not ignore its recent struggles. Mumbai Indians have not won an IPL title since their 2020 triumph in the UAE. While they reached the playoffs in 2023 and 2025, they finished tenth in 2024 and ninth in 2026.

Pollard said he did not want to see fans wearing the colours of rival teams at the Wankhede Stadium. He wants the venue to be filled with Mumbai Indians' blue and for the players to understand what it means to represent the franchise.

".When you walk into the Wankhede Stadium, you are not seeing the yellows and the reds and stuff like that. You want to see that blue flag flying, and you want to see that passion and spirit from the fans. And that can only come firstly from us," the newly appointed MI head coach said.

"So that's where our work sort of starts in terms of understanding what we are playing for and who we are playing for. We recognize the fact that we have not been where we wanted to be in the last couple of years. So there's no hiding, sort of from that. But what's going to happen is that we're going to try our best now to ensure that we continue to play for that badge, put the team above self, and then ensure that when the opposition comes, it's something that they remembered from the past. Yes, it's history, but sometimes in order to go forward, you have to go back a little bit and understand. And I think that's where it's going to start," Pollard asserted in no uncertain terms.