"No one is going to sit here and point fingers": Pollard backs skipper Pandya after MI finish forgettable IPL 2026 campaign

MI ended their season with a defeat to Rajasthan Royals, capping a forgettable campaign in which the five-time champions failed to build momentum.

Mumbai Indians will undertake a "thorough" review of their disappointing IPL 2026 campaign, but batting coach Kieron Pollard insisted there would be no finger-pointing at captain Hardik Pandya despite the franchise finishing ninth in the standings with just eight points. MI ended their season with a defeat to Rajasthan Royals, capping a forgettable campaign in which the five-time champions failed to build momentum.

"It was a season of what-ifs," Pollard said after the match, as per ESPNcricinfo. "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." "Overall, it has been disappointing for all of us as the 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," he said.

Pollard, however, said the management would avoid making emotional decisions immediately after the season. "Right now is not the time and place to talk about that [post mortem]. All these things will be sort of emotional decisions and thinking of every aspect of what's needed," he said.

"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," he added. The former West Indies all-rounder added that MI's review process would involve "deep thinking", especially with the franchise having not won the IPL title since 2020.

"Guys are going to sit back and actually think about what's needed," Pollard said. "It has been a while since we 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." Questions over Hardik's leadership and the team's retention strategy resurfaced during the campaign, but Pollard defended both.

"If we go back 12 months, we finish third [fourth, in IPL 2025]," he said. "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," he added. Backing Hardik despite the difficult season, Pollard said, "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 is that we'd have tried each and everything to give him the best opportunity to lead the franchise and do well."

He further said, "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." Pollard also revealed that premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah had been managing a fitness issue through the season, explaining his modest returns and eventual omission from MI's final game.

"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 said. "But he was able to come and try to deliver." Bumrah finished the season with just four wickets from 13 matches, despite maintaining an economy rate of 8.37.

Explaining the decision to rest the India pacer for the last game, Pollard said, "You're going to get two points if you played. What's that going to do for us?" "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," he claimed.

"So let's not look too much into that. 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," Pollard concluded. (ANI)