IPL 2018: Want to thank Mumbai Indians for entrusting faith in me, says Kieron Pollard

What’s the story?

West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who has been with the Mumbai Indians since making his Indian Premier League debut in 2010, was retained by the three-time champions by exercising their Right to Match (RTM) card during the IPL mega-auction in Bengaluru last week.

Pollard was initially bought by Delhi Daredevils but he got back to where he belongs as the Mumbai owners were not ready to part ways with the 31-year-old.

“I just want to thank Mumbai Indians for entrusting faith in me once again. Going into the auction then hearing that you were going to be retained, you know you have forged a very good relationship. When you talk of commitment to one, you can be committed to. People stand by you in difficult times, in good times and you reward them in the end. I am happy to be back at Mumbai Indians and looking forward to do special things,” Pollard was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo in an interview.

The details

Pollard, who has claimed 56 wickets and scored 1599 runs in 123 IPL games for Mumbai Indians, was retained for INR 5.4 crore by his IPL team.

Last month, Pollard, who made his first appearance in the shortest format in 2006, became the first cricketer ever to play 400 T20 matches, when he came out for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League.

In case you didn’t know…

Mumbai Indians had retained Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah before the auction and they used their Right to Match cards for keeping hold of Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard.

What’s next?

Pollard opted out of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe and will play Pakistan Super League from February 22 to March 25 before representing MI in the 11th edition of IPL to be held from 7 April to 27 May.

Author’s take

The fact that Mumbai Indians chose Pollard over their other star players like Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga and Jos Buttler, is enough to prove that the team has a lot of faith in the abilities of the all-rounder.

Going by his recent form, Pollard will have to up his game and perform exceptionally well to justify Mumbai's decision to retain him.