Kieron Pollard appointed captain of MI Emirates, Rashid Khan to lead MI Cape Town

The two sides, competing in the ILT20 and SA20, respectively, are part of the Mumbai Indians franchise

Kieron Pollard has been appointed captain of MI Emirates ahead of the inaugural ILT20 in the UAE while Rashid Khan will lead MI Cape Town in the SA20.

Both teams are part of the Mumbai Indians franchise, with whom Pollard has a long-standing relationship. He spent his entire IPL career with the Indians, scoring 3,412 runs and taking 69 wickets in 189 appearances. Earlier this year, he retired from the tournament and will instead serve as a batting coach during the 2023 IPL.

A veteran allrounder, Pollard has chalked up over 600 T20 appearances across his career and will be joined at MI Emirates by fellow West Indies internationals Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran and bowlers Trent Boult and Imran Tahir among others.

MI Emirates, who will be under the care of Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond, will begin their ILT20 campaign against Sharjah Warriors on January 14.

^{Kieron Pollard spent his entire IPL career with Mumbai Indians [Robert Cianflone/Getty Images]}

Rashid, meanwhile, is a new face in the Mumbai Indians family having spent his IPL career in the colours of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans. Despite being just 24 years old, he has already amassed 486 wickets in 356 T20 appearances, including 122 wickets in 74 outings for Afghanistan.

In Cape Town, he will be supported by a core of English players, including Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Olly Stone and wildcard pick Jofra Archer, as well as home favourites Kagiso Rabada and Rassie van der Dussen.

Their opening fixture will see them face Paarl Royals on January 10.

"We're extremely pleased to announce our captains for our extended MI Global one family for the cricketing season 2023. We have an amazing mix of talent, experience, and passion in both our captains," said Akash Ambani, owner of Mumbai Indians.

"I'm convinced that Polly and Rashid will take forward the MI ethos and MI brand of cricket. Both will work with our excellent coaching teams to infuse the MI spirit in MI Emirates and MI Cape Town and win the hearts of cricket fans in UAE and South Africa."