Jasprit Bumrah was one of the standout performers in India’s 2026 T20 World Cup win. For the IPL 2026 season, Mumbai Indians (MI) have high expectations from their marquee pacer. But the surprising thing is that the fast bowler is yet to take his first wicket in the ongoing campaign for MI.
With 4 consecutive losses, MI are now at 9th positionth Position in 10-team league; They are ahead of only Kolkata Knight Riders in the points table. After the Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings (MI vs PBKS) match on April 16, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene was asked about Jasprit Bumrah’s wicketless run.
Mumbai Indians coach talks about Jasprit Bumrah’s wicketless run in IPL 2026
While supporting the star Indian pacer in the post-match press conference, the former Sri Lankan batsman accused the entire bowling line-up of failing to perform as per plans. Jayawardene refused to say that Bumrah was going through a bad phase.
The MI head coach said that the team did not perform as per its strategy and failed to take wickets in the powerplay. According to the former international batsman’s explanation, the pressure is increasing on Jasprit Bumrah’s shoulders as he is not getting enough support from the other bowlers in the line-up. Along with the seamer, Mumbai has two other good bowlers in Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar. The team has been mostly ineffective so far on the power play, which puts them in a bad position.
Mahela Jayawardene blamed the entire bowling line-up for this
“Yeah, I mean, I think Boom (Jasprit Bumrah) is bowling well; it’s just that we are not putting pressure in the powerplay. They know they don’t need to take too many risks against Boom, and while we have tried to do some different things, which he is also trying, the opposition are batting well,” the MI head coach told reporters on Tuesday.
“I can’t point a finger at it and say he hasn’t taken wickets for any particular reason, but as a unit, we lack that penetration on different surfaces. That’s something we need to work on,” he said.
Jayawardene further stressed that he has had to deal with several injuries, which has reduced the team’s strength to some extent. He believes that Bumrah will soon be back in form and then he is expected to remain invincible.
Jayawardene hopes to see a complete bowler soon
“I think once he starts taking wickets, we won’t be able to stop him, so we just need to support him. He’s not the only bowler in our attack; we have other quality bowlers, and we just need to come together as a group. We’ve had some unfortunate injuries and illnesses within the camp, so we haven’t been able to get everyone on the park. Hopefully, we can get those guys out consistently now,” he said.
Mumbai Indians’ next match will be held on April 20 (Monday) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad when they will face Gujarat Titans.
Read more: Jasprit Bumrah walks away disappointed after heated altercation with Hardik Pandya during MI vs PBKS clash
