'His ego got in his way' - Irfan Pathan on Kieron Pollard's dismissal in MI vs CSK match

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) managed to beat the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) during the previous group stage match of the Indian Premier League on (April 21) Thursday. Former skipper MS Dhoni was at his vintage best as he finished the match for the Yellow Army scoring an unbeaten 28 off just 13 balls.

Meanwhile, former Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan has given his opinion about MI batter Kieron Pollard’s dismissal and has said that his ego led to his dismissal in the previous match. To note, the former West Indies player scored just 14 runs including a four and a maximum, before getting out to Sri Lankan spinner Mahesh Theekshana. Pollard was caught at the long-on, which was specifically placed near the sightscreen for the shot he plays.

His strength is always to hit straight down the ground: Pathan on Pollard

In a conversation with Star Sports, Irfan Pathan gave his opinion on Pollard’s dismissal stating that the Caribbean batter didn’t keep his ego aside. “His (Pollard’s) strength is always to hit straight down the ground. Because of that, the fielder is placed straight. He is asked to hit across but he doesn’t agree, he also looks to hit straight. To a certain extent, you are not able to keep your ego aside.

“The bigger the player you become, the more you play, the more matches you win, you think – ‘You have laid a trap and I will show my strength’. He tries to show his strength, tries to hit straight down the ground, and loses his wicket. But probably his thinking is that he hits sixes when the fielder is placed at long-on or long-off, so he can hit here as well,” Pathan said.

Talking about Pollard’s numbers in IPL 2022, he isn’t having a great time having mustered only 96 runs in seven innings at an average of 16. His highest score of 25 shows Pollard hasn’t been able to hit boundaries at will this season. MI’s next encounter is against Lucknow Super Giants on April 24 and Kieron Pollard will be hoping to contribute big for the side.