Cricinfo staff
Published: Oct 26, 2026, 8:18 AM (13 mins ago)
Kieron Pollard, who was bought by Joburg Super Kings (JSK) at the SA20 auction earlier this month, will not be taking part in the 2027 edition of the competition.
Cricinfo has independently confirmed with JSK that Pollard has communicated his decision to the team and that JSK can now sign someone from outside the auction pool to replace Pollard in their squad.
Pollard was unveiled as the new Mumbai Indians (MI) coach for IPL 2027 on Saturday. The same owners have a team in the SA20, MI Cape Town (MI CT), and Pollard's move avoids the possibility of him featuring against an MI franchise.
Pollard turned out for MI CT in the SA20 in 2024 and 2025-26, during which he played 12 games and scored 207 runs at a strike rate of 171.07. However, MI CT didn't bid for him at the auction for the next season.
Pollard also coaches MI London, another team owned by the same group, in the men's Hundred competition. His association with MI extends further: he has played for MI New York in Major League Cricket (2023-26) and for MI Emirates in the ILT20 (2023 to 2025-26), apart from for MI CT.
JSK paid Rand 1.5 million (US$90,272 approx.) to buy Pollard, who is just one run short of becoming only the second batter - after Jos Buttler - in T20 history to score 15,000 runs in the format.
Pollard, 39, continues to remain active as a player in franchise leagues around the world. Most recently, he played for Trinbago Knight Riders at CPL 2026 in August-September.
The 2027 edition of the SA20 begins on January 17, before which Pollard will be at the IPL auction table as head coach of MI.