Kieron Pollard Named Mumbai Indians Head Coach for IPL 2027

Mumbai Indians have named Kieron Pollard as their head coach for the 2027 Indian Premier League season. The franchise announced the promotion on Saturday, October 24, 2026, lifting its batting coach into the top job one week after Mahela Jayawardene stepped down. Pollard, 39, played for Mumbai for his entire IPL career and was part of all five of the team's title winning squads.

The appointment keeps the job inside the Mumbai family. Pollard joined the franchise as a 22 year old in 2010 and stayed for 13 seasons as a player. He played 189 matches, scored 3,412 runs and took 69 wickets. He was in the squad for each of the five championship seasons, in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. After the 2022 season he moved onto the coaching staff as batting coach, the role he held until this promotion.

What the franchise and Pollard said

In a statement released by the team, Pollard said Mumbai Indians had been a huge part of his life and career, and that the bond he shares with the team, the players and the fans, known as the Paltan, means a great deal to him. He said that having made the journey as a player and then as a coach, he understands what the franchise stands for and the responsibility that comes with representing it. He said he looked forward to working with the players and support staff, building on the team's record and giving the fans more reasons to celebrate.

Co-owner Nita Ambani said Pollard joined Mumbai Indians as a young 22 year old and had become an integral part of the family over the past sixteen years. She said that as a player he gave the team many unforgettable moments, and as a coach he had shared his experience and his understanding of the game. She said the franchise was delighted to see him take on the head coach role and was confident he would bring the same commitment and belief to it.

The job in front of him

Pollard takes over a side that has lost its old grip on the league. Mumbai made the playoffs in 2023 and 2025, but finished tenth in 2024 and ninth in 2026, missing the playoffs in 2026 for the second time in three seasons. The most recent title came in 2020, when Mumbai became the first team to defend an IPL title successfully.

His first task is close at hand. Pollard has to settle the franchise's retention list by the November 15, 2026 deadline, deciding which players Mumbai keep before the IPL 2027 auction. The auction is expected to take place about a month later in Goa.

Pollard also holds roles across the wider Mumbai group of teams. He is head coach of MI London in The Hundred, and he has played for MI New York in Major League Cricket from 2023 to 2026, for MI Cape Town in the SA20 in 2024 and 2025-26, and for MI Emirates in the ILT20 from 2023 to 2025-26. In the coming SA20 season he will play for Joburg Super Kings, who signed him at auction earlier this month with no rival bid from MI Cape Town. In the Caribbean Premier League, where Mumbai have no team, he has played for his home side Trinbago Knight Riders since 2019.