IPL 2019: One wrong retention and release by each team

8. Mumbai Indians

Wrongly retained – Kieron Pollard

The tall Windies all-rounder was first seen decimating New South Wales in the Champions League T20 2009. From there on, Pollard was acquired by the Mumbai Indians and was instrumental in leading them to three titles. His powerful forearms, range and his broad shoulder also makes him a very useful on the field. Nevertheless, in the last season, he had been nothing more than a liability.

Mumbai lost plenty of close shaves, mainly due to their lower-order batsmen not coming to the party. His average of 19 with the bat says it all. Pollard’s recent T20 performances have also not been up to the mark with scores of 14 and 6 against India and going wicketless. His retention raises a lot of eyebrows as the once a worthy all-rounder continues to deteriorate, rather than adding balance to the line-up.

Wrongly released – JP Duminy

The South African all-rounder, without a doubt, is one of the most underrated cricketers in the world. He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians last season for INR 1 crore. But due to continuous changing and chopping, the 34-year old could play only in six games.

Duminy could’ve been one of those players who can bring stability to the struggling batting line-up of the Mumbai Indians. His last four seasons had turned out to be very productive, averaging nearly 40 in all of them. Retaining Duminy could’ve brought a player of substance, who can run the ones and twos initially and later shift gears, in the line-up.