1 hr. ago
Kieron Pollard has taken over from Mahela Jayawardene as head coach of Mumbai Indians, and the franchise has turned to one of its best-known former players to lead it into IPL 2027.
On Friday, it was announced that former India player Robin Uthappa will take over as the team's batting coach while former MI pacer Mitchell McClenaghan has been named the bowling coach.
Pollard spent the last four IPL seasons as MI's batting coach, after he retired from playing in the league ahead of the 2023 season. He now moves up to the top job, which is also the first time he has held a head coaching role.
At 39, he is still active on the franchise circuit, having played for MI New York in the MLC and for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL this year. Earlier this month, Joburg Super Kings signed him in the SA20 player auction for the 2027 season.
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#batting #mahela
On Friday, it was announced that former India player Robin Uthappa will take over as the team's batting coach while former MI pacer Mitchell McClenaghan has been named the bowling coach.
Pollard spent the last four IPL seasons as MI's batting coach, after he retired from playing in the league ahead of the 2023 season. He now moves up to the top job, which is also the first time he has held a head coaching role.
At 39, he is still active on the franchise circuit, having played for MI New York in the MLC and for Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL this year. Earlier this month, Joburg Super Kings signed him in the SA20 player auction for the 2027 season.
Add The Sporting News as a preferred news source
#batting #mahela
2 months ago
Joe Root has added another major record to his remarkable Test career, surpassing Ricky Ponting to become the highest run-scorer in Test history on home soil.
The England captain reached the milestone during the second Test against Pakistan at Lord's in London. Root came to the crease on Day 2 and made 24 before Pakistan pacer Mohammad Ali dismissed him lbw.
Although Root was unable to turn the start into a substantial innings, those 24 runs were enough to take him past Ponting's long-standing mark.
Root now has 7,594 Test runs in England, moving ahead of Ponting's 7,578 runs accumulated in Australia. India's Sachin Tendulkar occupies third place on the list, having scored 7,216 Test runs in India.
Root's latest achievement adds another landmark to a career that has already seen him climb to the top of several major Test batting charts.
The England star has reached his 7,594 home runs in 89 Tests and 156 innings, averaging 53.85. His record includes 24 centuries and 35 fifties, with a highest score of 254.
Ponting finished his home career with 7,578 runs from 92 Tests and 154 innings at an average of 56.97. The former Australia captain registered 23 hundreds and 38 fifties, with a best of 257.
Tendulkar is next on the list with 7,216 runs from 94 Tests and 153 innings in India, while Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis complete the top five.
Player
Country
Time span
#root #Career
The England captain reached the milestone during the second Test against Pakistan at Lord's in London. Root came to the crease on Day 2 and made 24 before Pakistan pacer Mohammad Ali dismissed him lbw.
Although Root was unable to turn the start into a substantial innings, those 24 runs were enough to take him past Ponting's long-standing mark.
Root now has 7,594 Test runs in England, moving ahead of Ponting's 7,578 runs accumulated in Australia. India's Sachin Tendulkar occupies third place on the list, having scored 7,216 Test runs in India.
Root's latest achievement adds another landmark to a career that has already seen him climb to the top of several major Test batting charts.
The England star has reached his 7,594 home runs in 89 Tests and 156 innings, averaging 53.85. His record includes 24 centuries and 35 fifties, with a highest score of 254.
Ponting finished his home career with 7,578 runs from 92 Tests and 154 innings at an average of 56.97. The former Australia captain registered 23 hundreds and 38 fifties, with a best of 257.
Tendulkar is next on the list with 7,216 runs from 94 Tests and 153 innings in India, while Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis complete the top five.
Player
Country
Time span
#root #Career
2 months ago
Sri Lanka batter Sonal Dinusha emerged as one of the biggest positives from the drawn two-Test series against India, producing a remarkable display of resilience and consistency to thwart the visitors' hopes of a series clean sweep.
Dinusha scored three centuries across his four innings in the series, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 420 runs at an average of 140.00. He also faced 722 deliveries, the most by any batter in the series, underlining the patience and endurance that made him such a difficult player for India to dislodge.
His performance has now earned high praise from former India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who believes the young Sri Lankan has shown glimpses of two of the country's greatest modern-day batters, ****** ar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
"The way he has batted throughout the series has been phenomenal. He takes me into that era of batters like ****** ar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. When I was growing up, I used to look up to those Sri Lankan players," Pujara said in a video on ESPNcricinfo.
Pujara believes Dinusha has the potential to become one of Sri Lanka's leading batters in the years to come.
"In five to 10 years, Sonal Dinusha can be one of the greats of Sri Lankan cricket. He has shown that potential. The way he batted on the last day of the second Test match, it was a commendable effort," he added.
Dinusha's finest contribution came in the second Test at Colombo, where his unbeaten 133 off 264 ****** ensured Sri Lanka held India to a draw and denied the visitors a series clean sweep.
Coming to the match, India opted to bat first, with centuries from Padikkal (117 in 193 ****** , with 12 fours), Dhruv Jurel (115* in 177 ****** , with nine fours and two sixes) and half-centuries from Rishabh Pant (63 in 89 ****** , with six fours and two sixes) and skipper Gill (50 in 108 ****** , with six fours) taking India to 503/9, with Asitha Fernando taking four-fer.
In their first innings, SL was skittled out for 290, with Dinusha's second century (103 in 162 ****** , with eight fours and three sixes) and a fine 80 from Pasindu Sooriyabandara (in 133 ****** , with nine fours) standing out. Prasidh Krishna and Suthar were among the wickets for India with three each.
During the follow-on, India had SL down for 218/6, but a 112-run stand between Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha (46 in 150 ****** , with four boundaries) pushed Sri Lanka towards a sizeable lead. Dinusha (133* in 264 ****** , with eight fours and two sixes) reached his third ton of the series, with the resistance from lower order, who soaked in deliveries to support him. SL ended at 429/9, drawing the Test.
133591870
#dinusha
Dinusha scored three centuries across his four innings in the series, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 420 runs at an average of 140.00. He also faced 722 deliveries, the most by any batter in the series, underlining the patience and endurance that made him such a difficult player for India to dislodge.
His performance has now earned high praise from former India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who believes the young Sri Lankan has shown glimpses of two of the country's greatest modern-day batters, ****** ar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
"The way he has batted throughout the series has been phenomenal. He takes me into that era of batters like ****** ar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. When I was growing up, I used to look up to those Sri Lankan players," Pujara said in a video on ESPNcricinfo.
Pujara believes Dinusha has the potential to become one of Sri Lanka's leading batters in the years to come.
"In five to 10 years, Sonal Dinusha can be one of the greats of Sri Lankan cricket. He has shown that potential. The way he batted on the last day of the second Test match, it was a commendable effort," he added.
Dinusha's finest contribution came in the second Test at Colombo, where his unbeaten 133 off 264 ****** ensured Sri Lanka held India to a draw and denied the visitors a series clean sweep.
Coming to the match, India opted to bat first, with centuries from Padikkal (117 in 193 ****** , with 12 fours), Dhruv Jurel (115* in 177 ****** , with nine fours and two sixes) and half-centuries from Rishabh Pant (63 in 89 ****** , with six fours and two sixes) and skipper Gill (50 in 108 ****** , with six fours) taking India to 503/9, with Asitha Fernando taking four-fer.
In their first innings, SL was skittled out for 290, with Dinusha's second century (103 in 162 ****** , with eight fours and three sixes) and a fine 80 from Pasindu Sooriyabandara (in 133 ****** , with nine fours) standing out. Prasidh Krishna and Suthar were among the wickets for India with three each.
During the follow-on, India had SL down for 218/6, but a 112-run stand between Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha (46 in 150 ****** , with four boundaries) pushed Sri Lanka towards a sizeable lead. Dinusha (133* in 264 ****** , with eight fours and two sixes) reached his third ton of the series, with the resistance from lower order, who soaked in deliveries to support him. SL ended at 429/9, drawing the Test.
133591870
#dinusha
4 months ago
New Delhi: Mumbai Indians' (MI) top brass will meet in England next week to thoroughly review the previous season and make key decisions for the road ahead. It is understood that everything, from captaincy to coaching to trade talk, will be on the table when the management, including the ownership, reviews head coach Mahela Jayawardene's post-season report.
While the dressing room unrest and trade talk involving Hardik Pandya have hogged most of the limelight, Jayawardene's return to the set-up has slipped under the radar. Under the 49-year-old, the five-time champions finished fourth in 2025 and a disappointing ninth in the 2026 edition. It remains to be seen whether he holds on to his position as the franchise aims to press the reset ******* on in the hope of returning to its glory days.
As TimesofIndia.com reported, there is a lot of interest in a Hardik Pandya trade, and clarity will emerge after the MI season review. The franchise's position will be key, and it will be interesting to see how they position themselves to get the best out of the deal. The trade talk is unlikely to be restricted to just the all-rounder, as another former India captain's name has also generated interest among franchises.
Bumrah or Tilak?
Apart from the coaching and trade talk, Mumbai Indians need to figure out their captain for the 2027 edition. They are known to be a unit that doesn't believe in stop-gap arrangements, so the direction they take next week will be very crucial. Will they choose Jasprit ******* rah or invest in the young Tilak Varma, who is also rising on the India leadership ladder?
Bumrah is a strong candidate and has hardly missed games for the team over the last three seasons. While Tilak is young, his returns with the bat have been far from consistent. Some believe he is still a work in progress as a T20 batter, and captaincy will only weigh him down.
The 32-year-old, who made his Mumbai Indians captaincy debut in the IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings in the absence of both regular captain Hardik Pandya and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav, hinted at his captaincy ambitions.
"I didn't think that I would be a Test captain before becoming MI captain," he had said at the toss.
Bumrah has led India in Test cricket and captained the team to a win over Australia in Perth in the first of five Tests during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Not to forget, ******* rah was the franchise's highest-paid retention ahead of the mega auction in November 2024.
132408152
So, is ******* rah the best bet for at least the 2027 season before the overhaul happens in the next cycle?
Surely, that's not the only tough call the decision-makers will make when they ******* emble.
While the dressing room unrest and trade talk involving Hardik Pandya have hogged most of the limelight, Jayawardene's return to the set-up has slipped under the radar. Under the 49-year-old, the five-time champions finished fourth in 2025 and a disappointing ninth in the 2026 edition. It remains to be seen whether he holds on to his position as the franchise aims to press the reset ******* on in the hope of returning to its glory days.
As TimesofIndia.com reported, there is a lot of interest in a Hardik Pandya trade, and clarity will emerge after the MI season review. The franchise's position will be key, and it will be interesting to see how they position themselves to get the best out of the deal. The trade talk is unlikely to be restricted to just the all-rounder, as another former India captain's name has also generated interest among franchises.
Bumrah or Tilak?
Apart from the coaching and trade talk, Mumbai Indians need to figure out their captain for the 2027 edition. They are known to be a unit that doesn't believe in stop-gap arrangements, so the direction they take next week will be very crucial. Will they choose Jasprit ******* rah or invest in the young Tilak Varma, who is also rising on the India leadership ladder?
Bumrah is a strong candidate and has hardly missed games for the team over the last three seasons. While Tilak is young, his returns with the bat have been far from consistent. Some believe he is still a work in progress as a T20 batter, and captaincy will only weigh him down.
The 32-year-old, who made his Mumbai Indians captaincy debut in the IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings in the absence of both regular captain Hardik Pandya and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav, hinted at his captaincy ambitions.
"I didn't think that I would be a Test captain before becoming MI captain," he had said at the toss.
Bumrah has led India in Test cricket and captained the team to a win over Australia in Perth in the first of five Tests during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Not to forget, ******* rah was the franchise's highest-paid retention ahead of the mega auction in November 2024.
132408152
So, is ******* rah the best bet for at least the 2027 season before the overhaul happens in the next cycle?
Surely, that's not the only tough call the decision-makers will make when they ******* emble.
