Former Mumbai Indians fielding coach James Pamment said that he was a little shocked when Mahela Jayawardene stepped down as the team’s head coach after his second spell. Pamment had worked alongside Jayawardene at MI during his eight-year stint with the franchise, and he said that he had not seen the development coming.
Notably, last week, Jayawardene stepped down as MI Head Coach, bringing his second stint with the five-time IPL champions to an end. The Sri Lankan had guided the side to three titles during his first spell from 2017 to 2022 and returned to the role in October 2024 to replace Mark Boucher.
“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.
“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.
James Pamment backs Kieron Pollard to take over as Mumbai Indians Head Coach
In the same conversation, Pamment backed Kieron Pollard as the next suitable successor of Mahela Jayawardene. “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 said.
“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 added.
