Kieron Pollard has informed Joburg Super Kings that he will be unavailable for the upcoming SA20 season. The decision comes just a day after he was appointed head coach of the Mumbai Indians. Pollard was bought by the Super Kings for R1.5 million (around ₹85 lakh) at the SA20 auction earlier this month.
Pollard pulls out of SA20 deal
As per Cricbuzz, Joburg Super Kings, a franchise owned by the Chennai Super Kings group, will now have to plan for the upcoming season without Pollard. Interestingly, the team competes in the same league as MI Cape Town, which is owned by the Mumbai Indians group. MI Cape Town did not bid for Pollard at the auction, allowing Joburg Super Kings to sign him.
Pollard has a long association with the Mumbai Indians franchise, having joined the team in 2010. He played for MI across 13 IPL seasons before retiring from the tournament. Since then, he has continued to represent Mumbai Indians-owned teams in different T20 leagues around the world.
The former West Indies all-rounder has played for MI Cape Town in the SA20, MI New York in Major League Cricket and MI Emirates in the ILT20. He featured for all three teams between 2024 and 2026. Pollard also plays for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, where Mumbai Indians do not own a team.
Now the former West Indies captain has replaced Mahela Jayawardene as head coach for the IPL 2027 season. Had he played in the SA20, it would have created an awkward situation given the MI head coach would have turned out for a rival club's sister franchise.
