"His influence around the team has been great" - Zaheer Khan explains the reason behind Kieron Pollard's retention

Mumbai Indians' Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan has spoken on the franchise's decision to retain Keiron Pollard. He admitted that Keiron Pollard's influence around the team has urged management to retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction.

Boasting several talented stars within the squad, the Mumbai-based franchise had some of the toughest calls to make in the retentions on Tuesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma quoted that it was 'heartbreaking' to let go of some big names. MI had to release the likes of Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan and Trent Boult, among others.

Rohit Sharma (₹16 Cr.) Jasprit Bumrah (₹12 Cr.), Suryakumar Yadav (₹8 Cr.) and Kieron Pollard (₹6 Cr.) are the four players MI have retained for the IPL 2022 season.

Following the retention, Zaheer Khan lauded West Indian all-rounder Keiron Pollard for being the leader of the pack for the longest time. The former left-arm pacer told Cricbuzz:

"Pollard has been the leader of this group for the longest time. One of the strongest finishers in the game. His influence around the team has been great. He leads from the front with Rohit Sharma. So each guys who are retained, they are leaders in their own positions, and in their own rights."

The 34-year-old Caribbean all-rounder has been part of the Mumbai Indians since 2010, and has lifted the IPL trophy record five times.

Zaheer Khan also imparted his pride over the fact that several players started their journey with MI. They then went on to make international debuts for their respective countries. While hinting at getting some of the released players back, Zaheer Khan said:

"Lot of the players started their journey here, they've groomed themselves here and a lot of the players from this group have gone on to represent their respective countries. So that's what you feel proud about. It's not the end of the road, that's how one should look at it. So there's still a chance that we get a lot of them back."

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"We tried our best to make the right choices." - Zaheer Khan

Mumbai Indians retained their core group of players

Zaheer Khan divulged that the Mumbai franchise have tried their best to make the right choices for the retentions. He also mentioned that the team has to think about maintaining its core. Zaheer Khan said that his side have set themselves up for the coming years.

"You have to think about maintaining the core ahead of coming years and understanding the requirement of your team dynamics. So that has been the same with us as well. We've tried our best to make the right choices and plan and set ourselves for the coming years," Khan concluded.

As Zaheer Khan's MI have retained four players, INR 42 crore will be deducted from the total purse (INR 90 crore). The exact dates for the IPL 2022 mega auction have not yet been revealed. However, it is expected to take place in the first week of January 2022.