INDIA: One of the strongest relationships between a player and a team ended in the IPL. Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from IPL.
Kieron Pollard’s 13-year playing career began in 2010, when the Mumbai Indians signed him for an undisclosed fee after a tie-breaker broke a deadlock between four clubs. The five-time winners have released Pollard.
Pollard said that he would be retiring from the IPL, but his association with Mumbai is still going strong. He has joined them as a batting instructor and will play for MI Emirates, a team owned by the same group, in the ILT20 tournament in the UAE.
Kieron Pollard penned a heartfelt message on his retirement
The cricketer tweeted, “#OneFamily @mipaltan.”
The IPL franchises were all focused on Pollard during the 2009 Champions League T20 because of his powerful hitting, agile fielding, and ball-smarts. In the 2010 auction, he set his base price at USD 200,000, but four teams—Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Knight Riders—placed the highest bid of USD 750,000 for him.
The silent tie-breaker rule, wherein franchises were asked to list a price on a blank check with the highest bid receiving the player’s services, was used to sign the first of two IPL players (Shane Bond was the second).
For one franchise in the IPL, a selected few players have played in 100 or more games. Pollard is second on the list of most appearances for a single side in the IPL, with 189 games for the Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli is at the top of the list thanks to his Royal Challengers Bangalore record total.
Kieron Pollard made the decision to part ways with the Mumbai Indians after consulting with the team. The cricketer resigned from the IPL after saying that he did not want to play against the Mumbai Indians.
The cricketer’s contract with MI was extended for 6 crores last year, but it was cancelled after a disappointing season in which he scored only 144 runs earlier this year.
In addition, Pollard’s IPL career was nothing short of amazing. The all-rounder helped his team win many games with his innings. In 171 innings, he scored 3412 runs, including 16 fifty-sixes. The bowler has also had some success in the past. He’s taken 69 wickets for a respectable 8.77 economy.
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