Irfan Pathan also opined on death bowling of the MI.
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh is not in favour of the Mumbai Indians (MI) retaining Kieron Pollard for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023). He believes that the five-time champions MI should make the bold decision to release Pollard and bring in new blood in his place.
While the BCCI set the deadline of November 15 for the IPL franchises to submit the list of their retained players, Harbhajan said that the time has now come for the MI to release Pollard and bring in Australian all-rounder Cameron Green to make a team for the next four to five years.
Harbhajan Singh said on the Star Sports show ‘Game Plan – IPL Retention Special’: “Well, I think it’s going to be very difficult for Mumbai Indians to release Kieron Pollard. He’s been there for many years. But yes, there are times when you have to take few tough calls and maybe this is the time. They have to move forward and make a team for the next 4-5 years and try to find someone who can do what Pollard has done over the years.”
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He added, “Yes, they have Tim David, who can do a similar sort of job and of course, there is another Australian in the auction that is Cameroon Green. I think they will be eyeing him to be part of the Mumbai set-up. Of course, it’s going to be a tough call, but at some stage, you have to take those calls.”
Notably, Pollard made his IPL debut with MI in 2010 and since then he has played 189 matches and scored 3,412 runs at a strike rate of 147.32 and took 69 wickets.
Meanwhile, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that even though MI has Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah, the franchise still need someone who can do the job if they get injured.
Pathan said on the same show, “I think they still need to look for a death bowler. It’s very important, because Jofra Archer is coming back from injury. Jasprit Bumrah is also coming back from injury. Last year, what I felt from their bowling department, with Jofra not being there, they really did not have that sharpness in their bowling, especially in the death overs.”
He signed off by saying, “They kept going with Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat as well, so definitely, even if Jofra and Jasprit Bumrah come back, they still need someone at the backend at least for the sake of a replacement. If something goes wrong with Bumrah or Archer, they need someone who can bowl at the death. So, I really think they’ll be looking at that as well.”
(With Indian Express Inputs)