Keightley and Pollard named head coaches for MI London sides ahead of the rebooted 2026 season of the Hundred.
In this year’s Hundred, Keightley and Pollard have been named head coaches of MI London’s men’s and women’s teams for the team’s first season.
Having played over 200 IPL games for the Mumbai Indians, with whom he continues to serve as a batting instructor, Pollard, 38, has a lengthy history with MI teams worldwide.
Additionally, he has played for MI Emirates in the ILT20, which he just led to the tournament’s final, MI Cape Town in the SA20, and MI New York in Major League Cricket.
In addition to playing two seasons in the Hundred with London Spirit in 2022 and Southern Brave in 2024, Pollard was previously based at the Kia Oval after joining Surrey for the Vitality Blast in 2022.
“I am honoured to take on the role of Head Coach with MI London,” Pollard said. “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.
“This is an exciting opportunity to build a strong team, create a high-performance culture, and work towards sustained success in the seasons ahead.”
Keightley, on the other hand, joined from Northern Superchargers, now known as Sunrisers Leeds, which she led to the women’s Hundred championship in 2025. In addition, she coaches the Sydney Thunder in the WBBL and the Mumbai Indians in the WPL. From 2019 to 2022, she was the head coach of England Women’s.
Keightley said: I’m delighted to join MI London women’s team for the 2026 season. 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.
“The Kia Oval is a brilliant place to play and gives me a unique chance to combine Surrey’s rich cricketing heritage with the global winning culture of the MI family. My focus at MI London will be to bring the trophy home and build a high-performance environment where players can thrive, play fearless cricket, and continue to win.”
The most successful team in the Hundred’s original form, Oval Invincibles, has changed their name to MI London. The men’s team has won every tournament since 2023, and the women’s team has won back-to-back titles since the competition’s beginning in 2021 and 2022.
Sam Billings, who oversaw all three of those titles, will be replaced as men’s captain by Sam Curran, it was confirmed earlier this week.
Alec Stewart and Emma Calvert, Surrey’s directors of cricket, have also been named advisors in the leadership team by MI London.