Dwayne Bravo, all-rounder revealed a fascinating story about defending champions Mumbai Indians and Kieron Pollard and how it was him who played a role in the franchise acquiring the big-hitting West Indies all-rounder.
Dwayne Bravo had featured for Mumbai Indians in the first three editions of the IPL back in 2008, 2009, and 2010 before joining Chennai Super Kings the next year, and Mumbai Indians, without him, was in need of an equally effective replacement.
Dwayne Bravo Gave Kieron Pollard’s Name When MI Needed His Replacement
Initially, MI signed another West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Smith, but Kieron Pollard, who was making waves in the West Indies domestic circuit was on everyone’s radar. At the 2010 IPL auction, MI, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders came up with some aggressive bidding to acquire Kieron Pollard, with the Mumbai-based franchise finally getting a grab of him. However, all this couldn’t have been possible without Dwayne Bravo.
“When Mumbai Indians needed a replacement for me, I gave them Kieron Pollard’s name. When they tried contacting him, he was playing for a club, so I recommended Dwayne Smith and he became my replacement,” Bravo had told Cricbuzz.
“The following year, when it was the Champions League, I called Rahul (Sanghvi) and told Pollard, he’s here. Come and sign him now before the tournament starts. Rahul and Robin Singh left Mumbai and came to Hyderabad, I’ll never forget they came with a contract which at that time was 200,000 USD. I called Pollard, who came downstairs, and met them both in the lobby. He saw the contract. Now for coming from Trinidad, as a 19-year-old, that was wow. He said, ‘Dwayne are you serious?”
After plying his skills for the Mumbai Indians in the first three seasons, Dwayne Bravo was taken up by the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2011 IPL. A hard-hitting batsman and a decent-paced bowler, Dwayne Bravo is an asset to any T20 side in the world. He scored 20 runs and took 3 scalps in IPL 2021 playing 4 games.
Dwayne Bravo: One Can’t See Mumbai Indians Without Kieron Pollard Nowadays
Kieron Pollard went on to become one of the biggest signings for Mumbai Indians. The all-rounder has been with the franchise since the last decade and has scored 3191 runs from 171 matches with 16 half-centuries. Over the years, he has scored many a match-winning knock for his team as MI went on to become five-time champions.
“It so happened in that same tournament, Pollard was unbelievable. The entire world stood on their feet and applauded him. Everyone wanted to know who’s this kid. When a shout came around that Mumbai already signed him, it was forced to go into the mini-auction,” Bravo said.
Sportzpics for IPL
“IPL had put up a clause that no franchise can pay more than 750,000 USD to get him and eventually Mumbai won the bid. You cannot see Mumbai Indians without Pollard today.”
A Mumbai Indians’ veteran, Kieron Pollard has been with the side through thick and thin. He has seen MI emerge champions and he has seen them struggle. It is very clear that he is central to MI’s theme and the team management and the owners have immense faith in his all-around ability.
Kieron Pollard formed a critical part of the victorious MI squad in the 2020 season, smashing the ball at a strike rate of 191. In IPL 2021, before it was postponed, he scored 168 runs in 7 games averaging a staggering 56 at a strike rate of around 71 besides taking 3 wickets averaging 18 with the ball.