Mumbai Indians will conduct a comprehensive review of their IPL 2026 season after finishing ninth in the standings with eight points. Despite the disappointing campaign, batting coach Kieron Pollard affirmed there would be no finger-pointing at captain Hardik Pandya.
The five-time champions ended their season with a defeat to Rajasthan Royals, closing a campaign described by Pollard as “a season of what-ifs”. He said, “If this had happened, if we had done this, if we had done that, if we had played this one, if we had batted, it’s a bit of that.” Pollard acknowledged the tournament had been disappointing for the entire team, adding, “We weren’t good the entire tournament. We weren’t able to sort of string together wins and use the momentum when we got it.”
Pollard emphasised the importance of avoiding hasty or emotional decisions immediately after the season, stating, “Right now is not the time and place to talk about that [post mortem]. All these things will be sort of emotional decisions and thinking of every aspect of what’s needed.” He highlighted the need for “time and space to go, sit down, recollect, have a fair idea and assessment as to where it went wrong for us” to enable better decision-making. He described any immediate calls as potentially irresponsible from a management perspective.
The coach said the franchise’s review process would involve “deep thinking”, particularly given that Mumbai Indians have not won the IPL title since 2020. “Guys are going to sit back and actually think about what’s needed,” he said. “It has been a while since we won the championship, and that’s something that we have accepted as a team. And I said, another disappointing campaign, adding to what would have transpired before. So deep thinking is going to go into it.”
Pollard addressed questions regarding Hardik Pandya’s leadership and the team’s retention strategy. He defended both, stating, “If we go back 12 months, we finish third [fourth, in IPL 2025]. So that in itself justifies some of the changes that you would have made before. Now, finishing ninth, you’re not wanting to question it. I think that’s the inconsistencies that we need to sort of stay away from and understand strategically where we need to get better.”
Backing Pandya, he said, “And from a leadership perspective, Hardik, yes, it has not gone maybe as well as he would have wanted as an individual. But one thing you know is that we’d have tried each and everything to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise and do well.” Pollard added, “And again, no one is going to sit here and point fingers. I think when you lose, you have to look at it from a collective perspective. So you win some, you lose some. He was trying, we all were trying, and it just didn’t work out for us.”
Pollard also revealed that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah had been managing a fitness issue throughout the season, which accounted for his limited impact and absence from the final match. “To be honest, he came in with a bit of a niggle after the [T20] World Cup. We tried to manage it. He wasn’t his best self in terms of fitness perspective and all of that,” Pollard said. “But he was able to come and try to deliver.” Bumrah took four wickets in 13 matches with an economy rate of 8.37.
Explaining the decision to rest Bumrah in the last game, Pollard said, “You’re going to get two points if you played. What’s that going to do for us?” He added, “I think sometimes, you need to understand the player, understand what’s necessary at this point in time. And I think from a selection perspective, we didn’t think that today would have been right for him to play. We had other guys on the bench. We have depth in our bowling. We have young guys. So, trying something different, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Concluding, Pollard said, “So let’s not look too much into that. This is the last game of the season. It’s not that we could have qualified [for the playoffs]. And he’s a prized possession for Indian cricket. So sometimes you have to take the smarter option.”