MI London will have a new men's head coach in the Hundred next season, with Kieron Pollard set to step down from his role after his promotion to the same position at Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL.
Pollard took charge of MI London for the 2026 season and oversaw a fourth-placed finish as they narrowly missed out on qualification for the knockout stages. His side, captained by Sam Curran, finished level on points with Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds, but were knocked out owing to their inferior net run-rate.
Pollard has since been appointed head coach at MI, the franchise he represented in 189 IPL matches across 13 seasons, replacing Mahela Jayawardene, who left the job in October. Cricinfo has learned that Pollard will step aside from his duties with MI London ahead of the 2027 Hundred season primarily to get some time off.
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MI London's women struggled in the Hundred last year, finishing bottom and winning only one of their eight games. It remains to be seen if Lisa Keightley, who recently left her position as MI head coach in the WPL, returns as head coach next season for the women's team.
Pollard's departure means that there are two senior coaching vacancies at The Oval, after Surrey men's head coach Gareth Batty stepped down from his role to take up a position as an assistant coach at Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Batty previously doubled as one of Pollard's assistant coaches at MI London, the franchise which Surrey co-own with Reliance Industries Limited.
Surrey are expected to advertise for their own new head coach later this year, and are likely to allow the successful candidate to work in the Hundred alongside their county duties. Potential candidates could include Azhar Mahmood, the club's former assistant coach, and current bowling coach Jade Dernbach.
The Hundred's retention window opened last week and will run until mid-January, with teams permitted to keep up to 16 players from their 2026 squads at the same price point. As Cricinfo revealed in September, teams will be allowed to sign a fifth overseas player in their squads next season, though they can still only pick four in any given playing XI.
Birmingham Phoenix are also on the hunt for a new men's head coach after sacking Shane Bond last month. Jonathan Trott is understood to be among the contenders for the vacancy, with interviews due to take place this week.