Mumbai Indians (MI) on October 30 announced their fully revamped coaching staff ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027 retention deadline. Head coach Kieron Pollard will have three former MI players on his support staff. Robin Uthappa is the new batting coach, Mitchell McClenaghan the bowling coach, and Dhawal Kularni the development bowling coach. Former India fielding coach T Dilip joins MI staff as well.
With Pollard elevated to the head coach role, Uthappa will fill his shoes. This is the first time T20 World Cup 2007-winning member Uthappa will be involved in a coaching stint with an IPL team. Uthappa had played for MI in the inaugural season of the league.
Former New Zealand left-arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan has been hired as Lasith Malinga’s replacement. McClenaghan played for MI from 2015-19. He played a vital role in MI's three IPL-winning seasons. In 56 games, he claimed 71 wickets for MI at an average of 25.39, including a four-fer. He was part of the squad for the 2020 edition but did not play a game. Earlier, he coached MI's sister franchise MI Emirates in ILT20 2024. MI Emirates won the 2024 edition.
Dilip has returned to the IPL after a decade and a half. He had served as assistant fielding coach for now-defunct Deccan Chargers from IPL 2009 to IPL 2011. Dilip was part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024, 2026 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumphs. He shot to fame by introducing the dressing room impact fielder award. He will be replacing Carl Hopkinson.
Kularni had played for MI from the inaugural edition to 2013. After a long absence, he returned to MI for a couple more seasons but did not get enough game time. From 38 games, he has 36 wickets for MI at an average of 27.41. He has been part of MI's maiden and last IPL title wins in 2013 and 2020.
“Working alongside the coaching staff during the season, he will play an important role in developing the team’s bowling talent, particularly young Indian bowlers. His year-round role will ensure continuity in Mumbai Indians’ performance programme, providing consistent support for player development and talent pool depth,” MI said in a statement.
“Under Pollard’s leadership, the coaching group will work closely to strengthen player development, build a high-performance environment and prepare the team for the challenges of the upcoming season.”
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MI squad ahead of IPL 2027 retention deadline -
Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Rohit Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Danish Malewar, Mahipal Lomror, Will Jacks, Naman Dhir, Krish Bhagat, Ruchit Ahir, Atharva Ankolekar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammed Izhar, Ashwani Kumar, Keshav Maharaj, Mayank Markande, Raghu Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Mitchell Santner, Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton.
Are MI looking for a revamp in squad too?
Whether the Hardik Pandya trade is happening or not, it still remains a mystery. Sports Tak had reported that MI will reinstate Rohit Sharma as their captain after Hardik-led side could manage to reach the playoffs just once in three years. In the previous season, MI barely avoided the wooden spoon based on net run rate (NRR). They managed just four wins from 10 games.
During Hardik’s absence due to fitness issues, Suryakumar Yadav took over captaincy. In Suryakumar’s absence due to the birth of his first child, Jasprit Bumrah captained in one game as well. But both of them are unlikely to get the captaincy role. Tilak Varma’s name was floated as the next skipper too, but the India T20I vice-captain may learn the ropes from Rohit next season.
MI may look to release a few players to fix problems in their squad, even if they end up bidding on those players in the mini-auction. The likes of Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, AM Ghazanfar may be released. This will free up Rs 26.55 crore in MI's purse. MI may look to release Shardul Thakur, who has been out of competitive cricket for a while due to injury.
A few other uncapped players may see the exit as well ahead of the IPL 2027 mini-auction which will take place on December 17 in Goa.
Pollard's honest admission
Pollard has admitted that the par scores have changed in the last decade with batters evolving and conditions becoming more batting-friendly. Notably, MI have not won a single IPL title since the impact player rule was introduced. He wants the players to catch up with the changes.
"It has changed a lot," Pollard said about the high scores. "It's gone from 140, 160 being competitive to trying to not get 120 in the powerplay. So that in itself, should tell you how that landscape has changed. Yes, it has gotten more on the batter side, but it's all good. I think one thing in life is change, and being able to adapt to change, and for us as a team and for myself as an individual, that's the challenge. It's never going to be the same, but being able to catch up with the evolution of where T20 cricket is going, or come up with methods where you can, as I say, slow the batsmen down. That means the bowlers will have to work doubly, doubly hard in order for that to happen. But again, the game is going fast, but we still have an opportunity as individuals to bring it back to a level and control what we can at different times."
In the previous edition, MI also missed the form of their pace-bowling spearhead Bumrah. From 13 games, he managed to claim just four wickets, averaging 12.50. While he was able to put pressure on batters at times by stemming the flow of boundaries, he lacked support from other MI bowlers. This was also Bumrah's worst season with the ball since IPL 2014 when he managed five wickets from 11 games. MI had failed to defend the target of 244 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at home. The visitors chased down 244 in just 18.4 overs.