Kieron Pollard isn’t ready to concede the Indian Premier League (IPL) season just yet. Even as Mumbai Indians slumped to a sixth defeat in eight games — failing to defend 243 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium — the batting coach struck a note of defiance, insisting the fight within the group remains intact.

“We need to play that complete game of cricket to win a match because it’s getting difficult, the way the game is going,” Pollard said. “But what I can safely say, in the dressing room, the spirits of the guys —they are willing and wanting to fight.”

It has been a campaign of near-misses and unravelled moments for Mumbai Indians, now staring at the brink of elimination. Yet, Pollard was keen to place the setback in perspective.

“These things happen. You could have been worse off. At the end of it, we are still playing a game of cricket. There are a lot of other things more serious in life as well,” he said. “Two teams play. You win some, you lose some. We have been on the losing side. So yes, we have accepted that.”

Pollard, however, was quick to distinguish between acknowledging losses and conceding the campaign.

“When I said defeat, I didn’t want the headlines to be that Mumbai Indians are defeated. Mathematically and from a points perspective, we are still very much in the tournament,” he said.

“We have accepted losses because we have lost in the last couple of games. But overall, we have not accepted defeat in this tournament. We are still looking to go back, see what we can do and how far we can get.”

Published on Apr 30, 2026