Mumbai Indians (MI) concluded their highly disappointing IPL 2026 campaign on a somber note, finishing ninth on the points table after a defeat in their final league match against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Reflecting on a tough tournament, MI batting coach Kieron Pollard described the season as one of missed opportunities and “what-ifs.”
Pollard did not sugarcoat the franchise’s performance, admitting that the team failed to find its rhythm or sustain momentum throughout the tournament. For a franchise accustomed to regular playoff appearances and lifting trophies, finishing second-to-last is a tough pill to swallow for both the management and the passionate fanbase.
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A Season of “What-Ifs” and Missed Opportunities
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pollard expressed the collective disappointment felt within the camp. “If this had happened, if we had done this, if we had done that, if we had played this one, if we had batted, it’s a bit of that,” Pollard remarked. “Overall, it has been disappointing for all of us as Mumbai Indians. I’m sure the fans and everyone would have felt the same and there’s no hiding from that. We weren’t good the entire tournament. We weren’t able to sort of string together wins and use the momentum when we got it.”
The inability to capitalize on key moments meant MI could never build a run of victories, leaving them stranded at the bottom end of the table.
No Room for Emotional Post-Mortems
Despite the clear shortcomings, Pollard emphasized that immediate, knee-jerk reactions would not benefit the franchise. He stressed the importance of taking time to step back, reflect, and make objective assessments rather than emotional decisions.
“Right now is not the time and place to talk about that [post mortem],” Pollard explained. “All these things will be sort of emotional decisions and thinking of every aspect of what’s needed. Everyone needs that time and space to go, sit down, recollect, have a fair idea and assessment as to where it went wrong for us. That’s where better decision-making is going to come about. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this, you need to do that, I think that will be irresponsible from a management perspective.”
With the five-time champions having failed to lift the IPL trophy since 2020, Pollard acknowledged that a deep, thorough review is inevitable. “Guys are going to sit back and actually think about what’s needed,” he added. “It has been a while that we have won the championship and that’s something that we have accepted as a team. And I said, another disappointing campaign adding to what would have transpired before. So deep thinking is going to go into it.”
Collective Responsibility: “‘No one is going to point fingers’ – Pollard on Hardik’s captaincy”
One of the central talking points throughout the season was the leadership of Hardik Pandya. Under intense scrutiny from fans and pundits alike, Pandya’s role as captain was frequently questioned as MI struggled to find their winning formula.
Addressing the leadership dynamics and squad changes, Pollard pointed out that strategic decisions are made with long-term goals in mind. “If we go back 12 months, we finish third [fourth, in IPL 2025],” Pollard said, correcting the timeline of their previous campaign. “So that in itself justifies some of the changes that you would have made before. Now, finishing ninth, you’re not wanting to question it. I think that’s the inconsistencies that we need to sort of stay away from and understand strategically where we need to get better.”
Pollard strongly defended Pandya, emphasizing that the team’s struggles cannot be pinned on a single individual. In explaining the team’s collective failure, he noted: “‘No one is going to point fingers’ – Pollard on Hardik’s captaincy” remains the core stance of the team management. “And from a leadership perspective, Hardik, yes, it has not gone maybe as well as he would have wanted as an individual. But one thing you know that we’d have tried each and everything to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise to do well. And again, no one is going to sit here and point fingers. I think when you lose, you have to look at it from a collective perspective. So you win some, you lose some. He was trying, we all were trying and it just didn’t work out for us.”
Managing Jasprit Bumrah‘s Fitness and Form
Another major talking point was the form of premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah endured his leanest IPL season in terms of wickets since 2015, a year where he only featured in four games and took three wickets. In IPL 2026, while Bumrah maintained an admirable economy rate of 8.37, he managed to claim just four wickets throughout the campaign.
Pollard revealed that Bumrah had been managing physical issues since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. “To be honest, he came in with a bit of a niggle after the [T20] World Cup. We tried to manage it. He wasn’t his best self in terms of fitness perspective and all of that,” Pollard explained. “But he was able to come and try to deliver.”
Bumrah was subsequently rested for MI’s final league match against Rajasthan Royals. Pollard defended the decision, prioritizing the bowler’s long-term health over a dead-rubber fixture. “You’re going to get two points if you played. What’s that going to do for us,” Pollard argued. “I think sometimes, you need to understand the player, understand what’s necessary at this point in time. And I think from a selection perspective, we didn’t think that today would have been right for him to play. We had other guys on the bench. We have depth in our bowling. We have young guys. So trying something different, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
“So let’s not look too much into that,” Pollard concluded. “This is the last game of the season. It’s not that we could have qualified [for the playoffs]. And he’s a prized possession for Indian cricket. So sometimes you have to take the smarter option.”