Jasprit Bumrah has yet to open his wicket-account in IPL 2026. So has Trent Boult. Five Mumbai Indians (MI) bowlers are travelling at 12 runs an over or more. Even in this age of ever-inflating T20 totals, those numbers are making MI twitch. Two defeats in a row have left them eighth in the table, and although the next two fixtures are at the Wankhede Stadium, the ground is rarely kind to bowlers. Royal Challengers Bengaluru arrive on Sunday night knowing that too.
Head coach Mahela Jayawardene admitted after the reverse to Rajasthan Royals that MI’s plans with the new ball have misfired. Boult, owner of the most first-over wickets in IPL history, is searching for rhythm: only two powerplay wickets in 16 overs across SA20 and IPL this year, economy 9.62. Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, normally reliable for breakthroughs, have not provided the cushion Bumrah craves. Chahar’s tight spell against Delhi Capitals was followed by punishment in Guwahati; Thakur, typically a double-edged sword, tops the MI wicket list with four but leaks 12.88 an over. Off-spinner AM Ghazanfar is also going at 12s for just two wickets.
The pattern is obvious: opponents are content to see off Bumrah and attack the rest. Kieron Pollard, MI’s batting coach, was asked on Saturday whether Bumrah’s blank column mattered.
“When you look at T20 cricket now, the way that it’s going, you can’t really think much about wickets,” he said. “If you watch even the game that is being played presently [Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad], the powerplay went for over 100 runs. So again, sometimes the best form of attack is also defence.
“And we’re not looking too much into the wicketless nature of Jasprit Bumrah. He’s a world-class bowler. He has done it time and time again for India and also for Mumbai Indians. And again, when the time comes to get wickets, he’ll get wickets. If not, and he’s economical, we’ll accept that as well.
“It’s fine. On our side, it’s fine. We don’t look at cricket as that. And I, as an individual, never look at cricket as that. Cricket is a team sport. So, for us, it’s about coming together as one and trying to get the desired result at the end of the day because then I can look into all different things and create things that are not there. So, for us, he’s fine, he’s fit, he’s firing. And for your sake, I hope he gets five wickets tomorrow. And the economy is about five as well (laughs).”
Bumrah’s economy sits at an acceptable eight an over, offering MI some comfort. Yet the radar shows the pace is down: high-130s kilometres an hour rather than the familiar low-140s. The franchise insists he is fully fit after a busy international winter; fatigue, they say, is not an issue.
Analytically, Bumrah’s problem may be location rather than velocity. More than half his deliveries so far have been length balls on a good surface, inviting batsmen to sit deep and nudge. His famed yorker has scarcely appeared. Coaches around the league note that white-ball hitters will happily block Bumrah’s first spell if it means gorging on others later, a tactic that only works when his support cast is vulnerable.
The next fortnight is, therefore, more about the collective than the spearhead. If Boult recovers the inswinger and Chahar or Thakur strike early, Bumrah can return in the middle overs with men around the bat and a licence to attack. If not, MI may continue to watch their talisman hold an end while the rest unravel.
Either way, as Pollard insists, the surface truths—speeds, dots, wickets—matter less than the two points on offer. Sunday night at Wankhede should tell us whether MI’s bowlers can reclaim the initiative or whether the season’s early trends become hard reality.
