One of the IPL’s most enduring partnerships between a team and a player is coming to an end. The Mumbai Indians will release Kieron Pollard, their most senior player. Ending a 13-year relationship that began in 2010, when Pollard was purchased for an unknown fee using the tie-breaker method.
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Kieron Pollard has been a part of Mumbai Indians since 2010
Pollard is one of a tiny group of players who have only played for one franchise during their IPL tenure. Others in this category include Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2008), Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders since 2011), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians since 2013), and Lasith Malinga (who had two stints at Mumbai).
Pollard’s explosive hitting, agile fielding, and ball smarts grabbed the attention of the IPL clubs. During the 2009 Champions League T20, which was in India. In the 2010 auction, he set his base price at US$ 200,000. But four clubs – Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings, Royals Challengers, and Knight Riders – submitted a maximum bid of $750,000 for him. Pollard was the first of two IPL players [Shane Bond was the second] to be acquired under the silent tie-breaker system, in which franchises were requested to write a price on a blank cheque, with the highest bidder receiving the player’s services.
Pollard, the tall and well-built guy from Trinidad and Tobago. Had been “disappointed” just a year earlier when he went unsold in the 2009 IPL auction despite establishing a base price of $ 60,000.
