Pollard: MI haven't been able to 'string a complete game of cricket together'

"I think there's this tendency for him to want to take the new ball and just rolling that out," Mitchell McClenaghan says about Hardik Pandya the bowler

ESPNcricinfo staff

Published: Apr 30, 2026, 5:29 AM (3 hrs ago)

1:16

McClenaghan: MI didn't use the surface as much as they should have

Eight games. Two wins and six losses. No. 9 on the ten-team IPL 2026 points table at this stage. Not very Mumbai Indians (MI) like, you might think, except that they did finish bottom in 2022 and 2024, with playoff appearances in 2023 and 2025. It's looking off-kilter this time too, and batting coach Kieron Pollard put it down to not being able to "string a complete game of cricket together as a team".

The latest loss, by six wickets to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in a game where MI scored 243 - and lost with eight balls left in the chase - must have hurt just that bit extra.

"It has not been as consistent as we would have hoped and, again, the results are showing. So it's something that you can't shy away from," Pollard said at the press conference after the game. "You can sit and you can try to pinpoint every little aspect of it, but, again, collectively, I think we have not been good enough.

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"Two teams play. You win some, you lose some. And we have been on the losing side. So yes, we have accepted that. We have not accepted defeat, but we have accepted that we have been on the losing side more often than not so far in this tournament. But overall, we have not accepted defeat in this tournament because we are not out of it. And we are still looking to go back and see what we can do to see how far we can get in the tournament."

Pollard appeared just a bit prickly when asked about Jasprit Bumrah's run in the tournament: just two wickets in eight games, but the best economy rate for MI's bowlers at 8.80, even though he went for 54 in his four overs against SRH.

"We are unfortunate, you know, to always be in the public eye. So when we do bad, it's always being highlighted. But when normal people have jobs and they send the wrong email, they have the opportunity to edit the words and all these things. We don't have the opportunity," Pollard said. "So it's fair and fine when you're not doing well, you accept certain things. And knowing the individual, I know he's going to bounce back with greater heights and take wickets.

"And we are all, again, going to be singing 'Bumrah, Bumrah', not only for Mumbai Indians, but for India. So, again, let's cut him a little slack."

Saba Karim: 'Bowlers have got Hardik Pandya's number'

MI captain Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, has been off the boil. Much as he has been a force with the India team, his aura appears to have faded a bit when it comes to the IPL. This season, he has 128 runs from seven innings at a strike rate of 152.38, and four wickets with an economy rate of 12.26. The batting, especially, at a key lower-middle-order spot, has been below par.

"The opposition bowlers have worked out a plan to him: very few deliveries are bowled in the slot for him," Saba Karim said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show. "I think the way he sets himself up is only for those deliveries that are in the slot. Anything short outside the off stump, he's been unable to play freely. That's number one. Number two: the pressure of leading MI, the pressure of the team not doing very well, all that is weighing heavily on him."

2:04

Why has Hardik been under par with both bat and ball?

Karim argued that Hardik, talented as he is, has failed to reinvent himself even as the game itself has changed dramatically.

"If you look at the other batters, all of them have reinvented their game," Karim said. "They've become more multi-dimensional. They can play here, they can play the short delivery, and they are well equipped to play the upper[cut] shot. So they have kind of worked hard on the game. And I think in terms of batting, Hardik needs to do that. He's an exceptional talent. He has done so well for India, even for MI, in difficult situations. But I just feel that at this stage, the opposition bowlers have got his number in terms of the length that they're bowling to him."

Mitchell McClenaghan, the former MI fast bowler, suggested that Hardik the bowler has been short of confidence and has been trying to get his overs out of the way more than anything else.

"It's bowling at the right times. I think there's this tendency for him to want to take the new ball and just rolling that out," McClenaghan said. "And what I've noticed is just the accuracy has just been a little bit off. He's bowling three or four good balls and missing on those other two balls. And one good ball gets nicked, that over is still going for 14 with those additional two bad balls.

"I'd like him to take some more ownership and put himself into positions - which we've seen him do internationally - where he can bowl at the backend of the powerplay, or towards the backend of the innings. And I think when he knows what's required in that over, rather than just running up and bowling and just waiting for the batsman to react, then he's a bit more deliberate with his plans."

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