Last week, Jayawardene stepped down as MI head coach, ending his second stint in charge of the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions after guiding them to three titles during his first spell from 2017 to 2022.
Former Mumbai Indians fielding coach James Pamment said he was a little shocked by Mahela Jayawardene stepping down as the franchise’s head coach and backed Kieron Pollard to take over the role. Pamment, who worked alongside Jayawardene at MI during his eight-year stint with the franchise, said he had not seen the development coming.
MI have less than a month to appoint a new head coach before the retention deadline for IPL 2027 arrives ahead of the mini auction in Goa on December 16. He also felt Pollard, the big-hitting batter who began his IPL playing career at MI and later started his coaching career as the franchise’s batting coach, stands out among the potential candidates. Zaheer, who worked with Jayawardene as director of cricket operations at MI, has begun his tenure as head coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after long-serving coach Stephen Fleming left. It is the former India fast bowler’s first head coach role, and Pamment felt the timing would help Zaheer have a key say in shaping the squad retentions and auction strategy.
