Kieron Pollard may be in the middle of his least productive IPL campaign but, according to former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, there may still be more to come if the 35-year-old is open to a little bit of tinkering. “Pollard himself has to reinvent his game, however, he chooses to do that, because he’s still got a future ahead of him we hope,” Bishop said. 1″People are saying he’s washed, I’m not going to go there. I think he’s a player who can reinvent himself.”
Eleven games into IPL 2022, Pollard has 144 runs under his belt at an average of 14.40 and a strike rate of 107.46 – his lowest strike rate in any IPL season. The only previous instance of Pollard finishing a season with a strike rate below 130 was more than a decade ago, in 2011. Having been a vital cog in the Mumbai machinery since 2010 – and a key contributor in each of their five IPL title wins – Pollard has had the backing of the team even as he goes through a difficult campaign.
“Yeah, they’re keeping faith and being loyal to a great player for them. We have to have long memories – when I say we, in the media; fans, some fans anyway, have short memories,” Bishop said. “You look at Pollard’s numbers when Mumbai have won the championships: 400 runs [420] in 2013 at [an average of] 42, up to 2019 and 2020, where he averaged over 30 with a strike rate sometimes in the 160s to 190s [156.74 in 2019, 191.42 in 2020] – he’s been integral to them. You can’t forget that as a franchise, so they’re giving him every possible chance.”
Bishop reckons it’s a question of confidence. “As a bowler, if you know that a guy is tentative, you know he’s out of form, you know you have the wood over him, then you’re very confident in executing whatever plans you have,” he said. “When Pollard has been in his best form, I’ve seen him take apart some legspinners, I’ve seen him take apart some left-arm spinners. “Kieron Pollard needs confidence; he’s not that type of guy – when you get on top of him, it’s harder for him to come out. He needs the confidence, he needs the backing, and he needs a good start to the season.”
