By Admin 
The 69th match of the Indian Premier League was between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. Playing against Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians could have got entry in the playoffs but their poor performance spoiled the whole game. After the defeat in the last match of the league stage against Rajasthan, Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard on Sunday admitted that captain Hardik Pandya did not live up to the expectations of the franchise. With this defeat, Mumbai Indians’ campaign ended at ninth place in the points table of 10 teams.
Pollard, while talking openly about the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, said that this season was not what Hardik himself or the team management had expected. Talking to reporters after the match, he said, “From the leadership point of view, things did not go Hardik’s way. But one thing is certain that we gave him full opportunity to lead the team and be successful.”
However, Pollard clearly refused to blame any one player for the team’s poor performance. After the team’s 10th defeat in 14 matches, he said that this is a collective failure of the entire team and everyone needs to introspect together. He said, “It would not be right to sit here and blame any one player. Hardik was trying his best, we were all trying, but things did not go in our favour. Now the need is to learn from the mistakes. We will sit and review and understand what can be better for the team. Hopefully, in the next 12 months we will come back stronger.”
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Pollard also reacted to the possibility of major changes in the team. He said that it would not be right to take any decision out of emotion at this time, although some aspects will definitely be reviewed. According to Pollard, “Now is not the right time to discuss this. Every player and support staff needs some time so that they can understand with a calm mind what was lacking. Any hasty decision would be irresponsible from the point of view of team management.”
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Apart from this, Pollard also defended the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah in the last league match. He called it a wise decision taken in the interest of both the team and Indian cricket. Pollard said, “Jasprit is a player who always gives his 100 percent. But even after winning this match, we had to get only two points. In such a situation, we had to keep in mind the fitness and future of the player. He is a very important asset of Indian cricket, so it was important to take a wise decision with him.”