Former West Indies cricketer Kieron Pollard has replaced Mahela Jayawardene as head coach of Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2027 season.
Published: November 5, 2026, 5:53 PM IST
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Kieron Pollard (right) is new head coach of Mumbai Indians(Photo: ANI)
IPL 2027: Former West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard was named the new head coach of five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Mumbai Indians last month, replacing Mahela Jayawardene at the helmImmediately after taking over, Pollard pulled out of a stint in SA20 2026-27 with Joburg Super Kings and now he is set to step down from his role as MI London head coach as well.
MI London franchise in ‘The Hundred’ league in the UK is jointly owned by Surrey County Cricket Club (51 per cent) and Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (49 per cent), who are also the owners of Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPLPollard had taken over as MI London head coach ahead of The Hundred 2026 season earlier this year and saw the side finish in 4th place, just failing to qualify for the knockout stages.
According to Cricinfo website, Pollard is planning to quit the MI London job to get some time away after a gruelling IPL 2027 which is expected to run from March to May next yearNita Ambani’s MI London captained by England all-rounder Sam Curran had finished level on points with Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds, but were knocked out owing to their poor net run-rate.
Kieron Pollard is officially stepping down as the men head coach of MI London in The Hundred
This decision comes right after his massive promotion to Head Coach of the main Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPLManaging the high-pressure IPL transition requires complete focus, leading Pollard to step aside from his UK duties to balance his workload.
This sudden exit creates a fascinating power vacuum at The OvalWith assistant coach Gareth Batty also moving to CSK, the race for the new leadership role is wide openWhile like Mark Boucher who currently steers MI Emirates Head Coach are in the franchise orbit.
All eyes are on Surrey coaching setup for potential long-term options like Azhar Mahmood or Jade Dernbach & Grant Flower⏳
— Shariq (@Realsuperkings) November 5, 2026
Pollard’s imminent departure means that MI London will have to fill two major positions ahead of The Hundred 2027 seasonApart from Pollard, MI London’s assistant coach and Surrey men’s team head coach Gareth Batty has also stepped down from his role after joining Chennai Super Kings under head coach Zaheer Khan.
The Cricinfo report added that Surrey will advertise for their own new head coach later this year, and may allow the chosen candidate to work in the Hundred alongside their county dutiesSome of the cricketers in race for both Surrey and MI London role are former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood and Surrey’s current bowling coach and former England pacer Jade Dernbach.
The Hundred 2027’s retention window opened last week and will run until mid-January, with teams allowed to retain up to 16 players from their 2026 squads at the same price pointOn the other IPL 2027 Retention Day has been extended to November 17, when all 10 franchises including Mumbai Indians have decide on the players they want to retain.
MI London’s women struggled in the Hundred 2026, finishing at bottom and winning only one of their eight gamesIt remains to be seen if Lisa Keightley, who recently left her position as MI head coach in the WPL to be replaced by Luke Williams, will return as head coach next season for the women’s team.
Hardik Pandya move to Punjab Kings on the cards
Meanwhile, MI captain Hardik Pandya’s possible move to Punjab Kings is expected to be announced by the end of this weekHardik, who was retained for Rs 16.35 crore ahead of IPL 2026, is set to be traded to PBKS in exchange for pacer Arshdeep Singh, according to multiple media reports.
With Hardik set to depart, Rohit Sharma is set to return as MI captain for the first time since IPL 2025 season.
