NEW DELHI:
Mumbai Indians top brass is in a huddle to finalise the Kieron Pollard-led support staff for the upcoming season. The five-time champions have four options for the assistant coach position:
Aaron Finch, another experienced T20I cricketer from Australia and two ex-India cricketers, one of whom has also represented the franchise in the past.
It is reliably learnt that Finch's name has been under discussion for the last few weeks but he is likely to face stiff competition from the other three candidates as the franchise finalises the right person in the coming week. Pollard is actively involved in discussions around his deputy.
Regarding the fielding coach position, T Dilip is the front-runner, provided there is no late change of heart from either party. Bowling coaches
Lasith Malinga and Paras Mhambrey will continue for the 2027 edition and the assistant coach is the only missing piece which needs to fall into place for the IPL giants.
Pollard succeeded Mahela Jayawardene as the head coach on Saturday and will look to put the Mumbai Indians back on track in the cash-rich league. The West Indian will also have to navigate the captaincy and Hardik Pandya trade matters, and clarity on these two is expected in the coming weeks.
It remains to be seen whether the franchise invests in Tilak Varma, Indian vice-captain and a highly rated cricketer, or reverts to an experienced campaigner like Rohit Sharma to set things right before the mega auction reset. The captain-coach dynamic also needs to be taken into account before taking the crucial call as MI wouldn't want the internal turbulence they faced when Pandya was traded from Gujarat Titans and replaced Rohit as the skipper. Interesting few weeks are ahead.
As far as Pandya's trade is concerned, activity is likely to heat up as we approach the retention deadline.