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The MI London franchise, which was earlier known as Oval Invincibles, has appointed Kieron Pollard and Lisa Keightley as the new head coaches of the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, for the coming The Hundred 2026 season. This major change took place just after the all-rounder Sam Curran was appointed as the captain of the men’s team, thereby taking over from Sam Billings, the winner from 2025.

The rebranding from the Oval Invincibles to MI London was recently achieved and it is worth noting that this also involved acquiring a 49 percent stake in the franchise by Reliance Industries Limited during the auction last year.

MI London name new coaches as part of their brand overhaul

The MI London franchise has appointed former West Indies and Mumbai Indians player Kieron Pollard as the head coach of the men’s team for the upcoming The Hundred 2026 season. The T20 legend will succeed Tom Moody, a former Australian all-rounder and ex-SRH coach who just recently served as the men’s team coach.

Kieron Pollard is definitely no stranger to the MI brand since the legendary West Indies T20 all-rounder spent over ten years with the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL. Pollard is also attached to fellow MI franchises such as MI Emirates in the UAE’s ILT20 and MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA.

The MI London management team has also engaged former Australian cricketer and two-time World Cup champion Lisa Keightley as the head coach of the women’s team. The 54-year-old was appointed as MI London head coach in place of former England first-class cricketer Jonathan Batty.

Interestingly, Lisa Keightley was the coach of the Northern Superchargers Women’s team in the last edition of The Hundred, which was held in 2025. A few months ago, she is also named as the head coach of the Mumbai Indians.

New name, new purpose as MI London prepares for Hundred 2026

The franchise that has undergone a name change from The Oval Invincibles to MI London is the one and only, The Hundred’s most successful franchise ever. The men’s team of The Oval Invincibles has been the winner of the last three editions of The Hundred and is going to enter the 2026 season this year as the champion.

What is more, the women’s team of The Royal Invincibles has also celebrated two successive victories in The Hundred women’s section, winning in 2021 and 2022.

The 2025 trophy came under the new management that was headed by Sam Billings. However, now they have appointed England’s all-round cricketing talent, Sam Curran, as the new captain of the team.

The MI London franchise is expected to bring in new players and also make a few signings for the men’s and women’s teams so as to get ready for the 2026 edition of the most revolutionary 100-ball competition in England.