MI London appoint Pollard & Keightley as coaches

MI London have appointed Kieron Pollard and Lisa Keightley as the coaches of their men’s and women’s teams respectively for the 2026 edition of The Hundred.

Former West Indies all-rounder Pollard has a strong relationship with Mumbai Indians and their global network of teams.

He has previously played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for MI as well as for their sister teams in Major League Cricket, SA20 and ILT20.

Pollard had a stint as assistant coach of the England’s men’s team for the 2024 T20 World Cup and is currently MI’s batting coach for the IPL.

The 38-year-old Trinidadian has played more than 730 domestic T20 matches – the most of any player in the history of the format – and 101 T20 internationals for West Indies.

He previously played for Surrey in The Blast as well as for London Spirit and Southern Brave in The Hundred.

Pollard said it was an “exciting opportunity” to “build a strong team” and “create a high-performance culture” at The Oval-based franchise.

He added: “Having played in The Hundred and for Surrey, I’ve seen first-hand the strong alignment between Surrey’s cricketing culture and the Mumbai Indians’ winning ethos.”

Ex-Australia player Keightley takes on the MI London’s women’s side having previously coached Northern Superchargers – now known as Sunrisers Leeds – who she guided to the women’s title in 2025.

The 54-year-old is head coach of MI’s side in the Women’s Premier League along with Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League.

Keightley, who played nine Tests and 82 one-day internationals for Australia, previously had spells as coach of the national teams of Australia and England.

She said: “Having witnessed the team’s past success and now stepping into this role, I’m looking forward to the journey and to a new challenge after winning The Hundred last season.”

MI London were previously known as Oval Invincibles before a name change following investment from the owners of IPL side Mumbai Indians.

Reliance Industries Limited bought a 49% stake in the franchise, which has produced five title-winning teams in The Hundred.

Oval Invincibles men’s and women’s teams were coached by Tom Moody and Jonathan Batty last year.

Elsewhere, Trent Rockets announced they have retained Tom Banton for their men’s team and Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner in the women’s competition.

Southern Brave also unveiled their new red and blue branding, which aligns with the colours used by the Capitals sides in the IPL, SA20 and ILT20 that their new owners are involved with.