Former Mumbai Indians fielding coach James Pamment expressed disbelief at Mahela Jayawardene stepping down as the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) head coach ahead of the forthcoming IPL 2027 season.
Notably, Jayawardene guided the Mumbai Indians franchise to three titles during his tenure from IPL 2017 to 2022. Interestingly, Pamment worked with Jayawardene at MI during his eight-year tenure
“I was a little bit shocked actually when I saw at the weekend that Mahela had decided to step down. I enjoyed a lot of years working alongside Mahela,” Pamment told IANS in an exclusive conversation.
“So passionate about Mumbai Indians, so passionate about the performance of the team as well. He was so passionate about helping develop the players, especially the Indian players, to go on and become significant players for India as well, which a number of those guys now are when coming on this trip to New Zealand. So, I was surprised. I’m sort of out of the loop now, so I’m not sure what the inner workings are. Let’s see,” he added.
Further, Pamment reckoned that Kieron Pollard would be a perfect candidate to replace Jayawardene as the franchise’s head coach. Notably, Pollard currently serves as the franchise’s batting coach.
“Really, other than Kieron Pollard, I’m not sure who could take over. There’s been lots of names mentioned, but for me, if Kieron feels he’s ready to take it on, he’d be the man I’d give the job to. But I’ve heard about (Mike) Hussey, or this, that and the other people. But there’s a guy there who bleeds blue and gold.
“He started his coaching career there and, once again, if he can put good people around him, I think he’s a guy who would have respect from the players. He’s definitely got the knowledge about playing T20 cricket, especially in the IPL. But let’s see – the owners might have something else in mind,” he concluded.
