"He's been on both sides of the fence" - MI head coach Mark Boucher on working with Kieron Pollard in IPL 2023

Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mark Boucher believes that having someone like Kieron Pollard, who has played for the franchise in the recent past, as a support staff will be a big advantage for the team.

Boucher mentioned that the coaching staff have a few plans involving Pollard that they would like to execute in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).

He suggested that their focus will be on giving players an environment that will enable them to go out and express themselves freely on the field.

In a video shared by the franchise on social media, here's what Boucher said about the support staff:

"It's always great to have continuity in your support staff. We've even got an ex-player coming into our support staff, in Polly as well. So I mean he's been on both sides of the fence. Coaching is a little bit new to him. He's still very fresh out of the game as well.

"We've got a couple of great ideas that we can run by him as a coaching staff and him coming into our group as well. So we've got every box sort of ticked. We've just got to try and gel together as a unit as support staff and give the players the best environment to go out there and try to express their skills and hopefully win."

Notably, Boucher replaced Mahela Jayawardene as the head coach of the Mumbai-based team ahead of this year's cash-rich league. The former South African keeper added that while he was initially a bit nervous, he is confident of the side's chances, elaborating:

"I must admit, I'm a little bit nervous. I think before anything new in life, you do get a little bit nervous. I'm quietly confident. I've seen a lot of the youth at Mumbai Indians. I came here with the scouts and we had a look at all the training sessions. So, very confident, but a little bit nervous. I just want the whole season to get underway now."

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Pollard announced his retirement from the IPL after he was released by Mumbai prior to the mini-auction. The five-time champions extended their long-term association with the talismanic all-rounder, roping him as their batting coach.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge" - Mark Boucher on his stint with MI

Mark Boucher further pointed out that there are a lot of expectations from the team, considering their impressive record in the tournament. He highlighted how MI have won the IPL trophy on five occasions.

The 46-year-old emphasized that he has a wonderful support staff with him and he looks forward to working alongside them, adding:

"There will be expectations, absolutely there should be, and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I think that the team has been very successful over the years and you've got the trophies to show that as well.

"I'll be feeding off a lot of people around me. We've got a fantastic support staff, but a lot of stuff out of that as well. We've got the scouts. There's a lot of support for me and my job as well."

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The Rohit Sharma-led side will open their IPL 2023 campaign with a clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, April 2.