Five titles in the cabinet, yet no final since 2020 – the statistic follows Mumbai Indians around like an unpaid bar tab. Head coach Mahela Jayawardene, though, is in no mood to panic. Speaking on the eve of MI’s 2026 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders, he pointed to the habits behind the silverware rather than the length of the wait.
“To be honest, every year we want to win, so it’s not about the gap,” Jayawardene said. “That’s how I see things. How we see is that we will play our best cricket to win the title. So for us, the gap is not the thing.”
A trophy, he added, is only part of the picture. “It’s about, it’s bigger than – yes, the IPL trophy is massive – but for us, it’s even bigger how we go about doing things. As long as we have the culture, the winning culture and doing that, I know that we will have enough trophies to celebrate that.”
That culture, in his mind, begins inside the changing room. “Having played the game for many years and being part of MI as well, it’s important having the guys ready, enjoying the game. And as a franchise, we cultivate that culture. So as long as we can tick those boxes, I know the results will come. We will have an opportunity again. So that’s what we’re going to fight for.”
A first-match hoodoo
MI’s season-opening record is, frankly, grim: they have not won their first fixture since 2012. The statistic has graduated from quirk to millstone, although Jayawardene tried to diffuse its power.
“First one, it is an elephant in the room, but there is no way for us to prepare differently,” he said. “I think I have spoken to the boys about it, the intensity being there for that first game. I think that is all we can control. That is what I have asked from the guys to go out and play good game of cricket at that high intensity… But hopefully I can break that hoodoo.”
The opponents, Kolkata Knight Riders, have often brought out MI’s best – Mumbai hold a sizeable head-to-head advantage – but recent history offers no guarantees.
World-champion quartet back on duty
Four members of India’s T20 World Cup-winning XI – Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah – return to franchise duties this week. Managing their emotional come-down has occupied plenty of coaching bandwidth.
“I think it was great to see that intensity, how they went about it. I mean, it’s a World Cup, it’s the best stage in the world,” Jayawardene observed. “That adrenaline is something that is difficult to match. Hence why we gave them an extended period to take a break, spend some time with family, and then come back fresh, so that they know, ‘okay, it’s a different start, different set-up’. But they’re walking into a set-up they’re very familiar with.”
Familiar, yes, yet the roles inside MI colours are not identical to India’s. “These guys have been with us for many years now. So it’s a much easier way for them to get into that groove. And it’s conversations that we had with them about getting to that intensity because the roles are slightly different to what they’ve had with the Indian team to MI. So having that understanding and getting them to lock into that.”
Early signs, the coach said, are promising. “They’ve had a couple of good practice games,” he noted, before shrugging away the hype. “Now it’s about doing it when the lights are on.”
Even for a side as storied as Mumbai, the season starts at 0-0. The process Jayawardene prizes will soon face its next examination.
