Nothing is going right for the Mumbai Indians in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They succumbed to their fourth consecutive loss of IPL 2026 on Thursday, going down to the Punjab Kings. Moreover, Jasprit Bumrah's wicketless season has started becoming a concern for the five-time champions. However, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene backed their ace pacer to come good soon but he also revealed that Bumrah played the earlier matches with a niggle.
In the post-match press conference, Mahela was asked if Bumrah's pace had gone down this season in the IPL, but Jayawardene attributed it to the workload. "I think initially because he had a slight niggle… we wanted to build him up, over the last few games his speeds have gone up, we've looked at all that, so he's very comfortable," Jayawardene said.
Bumrah has not picked up a wicket in the last six IPL matches now but Jayawardene also feels that the other bowlers have not been able to support him from the other end. "I think Bumrah is bowling well - it's just where we are not putting pressure in the powerplay. They [opposition batters] know they don't need to take too much risk against Bumrah as well, and we have tried a few different things, which he is trying as well, but they are batting well.
"I can't put a finger and say why he's not taken wicket… but as a unit we have lacked that penetration in different surfaces and that's something that we need to work [on] and see what we need to do," MI head coach added.
Luck deserting Bumrah, will be unstoppable soon, says Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene also went on to say that luck is playing a part in Jasprit Bumrah not picking up a wicket this season. He noted that the ace pacer bowled superbly in the game against Punjab Kings too but was unlucky to not strike during his spell.
"Sometimes you need a bit of luck as well: the other [bowler] is taking a few wickets and then he gets some match-ups which he's very comfortable, very good. [He] bowled some really good balls initially to Shreyas [Iyer] as well, wasn't lucky enough. I think once he starts taking wickets, might not be able to stop him doing that," Jayawardene further said.
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