Pollard tells Joburg Super Kings he will miss SA20

Kieron Pollard has told Joburg Super Kings he will be unavailable for the upcoming SA20 season, after being appointed Mumbai Indians head coach for the 2027 Indian Premier League campaign. The South African franchise said it will seek a replacement for the former West Indies allrounder, whom it signed for R1.5 million at an auction earlier this month. The fifth SA20 season is scheduled to run from January 17 to February 21, 2027. Pollard’s withdrawal follows his appointment at Mumbai Indians, replacing Mahela Jayawardene as head coach for IPL 2027. Mumbai Indians and Joburg Super Kings are associated with different ownership groups, and Mumbai Indians also operates MI Cape Town in the SA20 competition. Joburg Super Kings chief executive Kasi Viswanathan said Pollard had conveyed that he would not be able to play for the team. Viswanathan said the franchise would now look for a replacement. His account establishes Pollard’s unavailability; it does not, by itself, explain why he made the decision. A Mumbai Indians source, speaking to Cricbuzz, said the franchise had given Pollard no instructions and had left the decision to him. The source also said MI Cape Town had selected...