SA20: 16 years after losing Pollard at auction, Super Kings finally sign MI legend

Kieron Pollard has spent much of his career in Mumbai Indians blue, tormenting Chennai Super Kings along the way with some memorable IPL knocks. When Mumbai Indians joined hands with Cape Town for the inaugural edition of SA20, Pollard was also part of the trip. However, now we won’t see him in the MI blue jersey in the SA20. Instead, Pollard will wear Super Kings yellow after Joburg Super Kings bought him for R1.5 million in the Season 5 auction.

Sixteen years after CSK tried to sign him in the 2010 IPL auction, Pollard will finally play for the Super Kings franchise, although it is Jo’burg rather than Chennai that secured his services.

Pollard was one of the biggest names in the 2010 auction after putting himself firmly on the IPL franchise’s radar with his performances for Trinidad and Tobago. Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders were all involved in the bidding, which reached the maximum allowed amount of $750,000.

Since more than one team reached this number, the winner was decided by a secret tie-breaker. Mumbai Indians finished first and Pollard began what became a 13-season IPL career with the franchise.

He went on to score 3,412 runs and 69 wickets for Mumbai Indians, being part of all five of their IPL title winning campaigns. Pollard also featured in both of the franchise’s Champions League T20-winning campaigns, establishing himself as one of the most successful players in history.

Even after leaving the IPL in 2022Pollard remained with the Bombay Indians. He moved into coaching as their batting coach and continued to be involved with the franchise’s teams in other competitions.

This included MI Emirates in ILT20, MI New York in Major League Cricket and MI Cape Town in SA20. Pollard captained MI Cape Town during the 2024 season and scored 187 runs at a strike rate of 185.15. He was not part of their victorious 2025 campaign, but returned midway through the 2026 season as a replacement for Rashid Khan and played two matches.

Pollard’s departure from MI Cape Town comes after several seasons in which he was one of the familiar faces of the franchise. He was released by the Mumbai Indians before the last auction, making him available along with 155 other players in the 19 slots up for grabs.

The Joburg Super Kings were in the strongest financial position going into the auction, with R20.6 million left in the purse and six slots to fill. They used R1.5 million of that amount to sign Pollard, who did not appear at the auction.

The move gives Pollard his first stint with the Super Kings franchise and takes him into a new dressing room after years with the MI set-up. It also brings the old IPL auction story back into the limelight. CSK could not get Pollard in 2010 when they competed with Mumbai Indians for his signature. Sixteen years later, he will finally wear the yellow, albeit in a Joburg Super Kings jersey rather than a Chennai Super Kings jersey.

– The end