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Robin Uthappa during his IPL days with KKR | PC- AFP
In a massive update, Mumbai Indians (MI) have announced a strong coaching crew for the IPL 2027. The five-time champions have shuffled their backroom staff upside down, as Robin Uthappa and Mitchell McClenaghan have been hired in key roles.
Notably, Kieron Pollard, who recently replaced Mahela Jayawardene as head coach, will have a newly assembled coaching staff.
Robin Uthappa joins MI as batting coach; key jobs for T Dilip, McClenaghan
On Thursday, MI parted ways with three members of its coaching staff: Lasith Malinga, Paras Mhambrey and Carl Hopkinson.
A day after announcing the departures, the joint-most successful IPL franchise has turned its attention to recruitment, bringing in new faces to its coaching setup.
KKR's loyalist Robin Uthappa will be the next batting coach for the Mumbai Indians. At the same time, MI seamer Mitchell McClenaghan, who won four titles with the franchise, will serve as the bowling coach for the five-time champions.
Another former MI pacer, the two-time IPL-winning Dhawal Kulkarni has joined the Kieron Pollard-led coaching staff, becoming the team's development bowling coach.
India's T20 World Cup-winning fielding coach, T Dilip, has also been inked by Mumbai to replace the Englishman, Hopkinson.
"Mumbai Indians today announced the appointment of Robin Uthappa as Batting Coach, Mitchell McClenaghan as Bowling Coach, T. Dilip as Fielding Coach and Dhawal Kulkarni as Development Bowling Coach for the upcoming IPL 2027 season," the franchise said in a press release.
"They will join Head Coach Kieron Pollard as part of a new-look coaching group that brings together a strong understanding of the Mumbai Indians culture, extensive international experience and a shared commitment to developing talent and delivering success," it added.
Under Pollard, MI look beyond Hardik Pandya era
As Kieron Pollard becomes MI’s eighth head coach, it marks the start of a new era for the five-time champions, who have gone without a title for the last five editions. However, they are yet to take a decision on the prolific Hardik Pandya.
Following the changes to their backroom staff, the franchise could also be considering moving on from captain Hardik Pandya, who was traded from Gujarat three seasons ago.
All the media reports suggest Pandya’s departure, but it would be interesting to see where MI heads for captaincy in the last season before the mega-auction for 2028.
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