Like Ronaldo at Barcelona: Pollard’s Super Kings signing sparks hilarious memes

Kieron Pollard has spent much of his career making life miserable for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Now, 16 years after Chennai tried and failed to sign him in the 2010 auction, the Mumbai Indians legend will finally wear the yellow of the Super Kings.

Just not in Chennai.

Pollard was snapped up by the Joburg Super Kings for R1.5 million at Wednesday’s SA20 Series 5 auction, completely unopposed. The move marks the 39-year-old’s first appearance for the Super Kings franchise after spending much of his career in the Mumbai Indians ecosystem.

For CSK fans, the signing of the contract is one with a lot of history. Pollard played 29 IPL matches against Chennai and scored 636 runs at a strike rate of 169.60. Mumbai won 16 of those matches, underlining how often the powerful Trinidadian proved to be a thorn in CSK’s side.

Some of his most memorable performances against MS Dhoni’s team came in games that remain part of IPL folklore.

In the 2019 final, Pollard held Mumbai’s innings together with an unbeaten 41 off 25 balls as MI posted 149/7. Chennai came agonizingly close in the chase before Mumbai won the final by one run. Pollard’s three sixes and three fours proved crucial in the low-scoring thriller.

Then came that special night in Delhi 2021. Chasing 219, Mumbai were staring at a daunting target before Pollard pulled off one of the great IPL heists. He smashed an unbeaten 87 off just 34 balls, hitting eight sixes and six fours to get Mumbai over the line off the last ball.

Now the man who once troubled CSK will walk into the Super Kings dressing room.

Pollard spent the previous three seasons with MI Cape Town, including a mid-season return in 2026 as a replacement for Rashid Khan. It was released before the auction and became available for 19 slots that were not yet filled.

The moment his name was called in Johannesburg, the Joburg Super Kings immediately picked up the paddle. No contest was held. Pollard was sold for a base price of R1.5 million. The official SA20 account even described the offer as immediate and “unopposed”.

Social media, unsurprisingly, had something to say.

For some fans, seeing Pollard in yellow was just too weird to process. Others joked about the apparent lack of loyalty in modern franchise cricket, while some drew comparisons to the unthinkable prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Barcelona.

The memes kept coming, with fans using everything from football rivalries to popular movie references to capture the oddity of seeing one of MI’s most iconic characters suddenly become the Super King.

Pollard may be changing colours, but his history with the Super Kings ensures this is unlikely to be seen as another SA20 signing.

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