Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped huge praise on former Mumbai Indians star Keiron Pollard and compared him with Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Pollard was an integral part of Mumbai Indians for more than a decade as he won matches for them year after year and announced his retirement from IPL ahead of 2023 season. However, the franchise roped him as the batting coach after his retirement as a player. The Windies great played 189 matches for Mumbai Indians and slammed 3412 runs at a strike rate of 147.32. He was also a handy option with the ball for MI on several occasions and picked 69 wickets at an economy rate of 8.79.
Harbhajan, who shared dressing room with Pollard for many years, said that he was the MS Dhoni of Mumbai Indians who put pressure on the bowlers whenever he was in the middle.
“Pollard was a great player and the backbone of Mumbai Indians. Even if the match was out of hands but till he was present at the crease, there was a belief that he can make things possible which looked impossible. He was our Dhoni who could exert pressure on any bowler while he batted,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
Mumbai Indians signed Tim David in the IPL 2022 mega auction as the successor of Pollard as he has been assigned the finisher’s role in this season. The lanky batter has won a couple of matches for MI this season but failed to get them over the line against Lucknow Super Giants in their last match.
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While Harbhajan also shared his favourite memory of Pollard as he recalled the moment when the Windies all-rounder grabbed a stunning catch off his bowling.
“My favourite memory with him (Pollard) was when he took a catch of (Kevon) Cooper off my bowling in Ahmedabad (IPL 2014). I bowled the ‘Doosra’ and he smashed it straight while playing on the backfoot. Pollard jumped and grabbed it in one hand and then went out, threw the ball up in the air, and again dived in to take the catch.”
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