“Niggle from World Cup…” - Mahela Jayawardene huge revelation on Jasprit Bumrah’s IPL 2026 struggles

One of the biggest concerns for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has been the struggle of their premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, who has gone wicketless in the first five clashes of the event, with the franchise facing four successive defeats to be at the ninth position of the points table. 

Hardik Pandya, their captain, claimed that they would look to take a few tough calls in the next game when they lock horns with the Gujarat Titans on April 20 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Jasprit Bumrah could get a break, having been smashed for 164 runs in 114 balls during this campaign at an economy rate of 8.63.

MI coach reveals Bumrah carrying injury from World Cup

There had been issues with Bumrah’s pace, with his average speed getting around 130 kmph. Their head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, has addressed the issue as he revealed that the bowler had been managing his workload due to the niggle that he had been carrying from India’s victorious T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. 

“I think initially, because he had a slight niggle, which came from the World Cup. We wanted to build him up (and) over the last few games, his speed has gone up. We’ve looked at all that, so he’s very comfortable. Sometimes, you need a bit of luck as well.” Jayawardene said in the press conference.

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Bumrah, despite the injury, finished the T20 WC 2026 as the joint leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps in eight innings at an average of 12.42 and an economy rate of 6.21. He had the best figures of 4/15 in an innings during the event. 

Why Bumrah has struggled to find rhythm in IPL 2026

The MI coach shed light on how Bumrah had been unlucky not to dismiss Shreyas Iyer, who pulled the short ball into the stands for a massive six. He also acknowledged that their bowling unit has lacked penetration in this edition. 

“Bumrah is bowling well; it is just where we are not putting pressure in the powerplay. They (opposition) know they don’t need to take too much risk against Bumrah. We tried a few different things, which he is trying as well, but they are batting well. I can’t put a finger (on something) and say that he hasn’t taken a wicket.” The former Sri Lanka captain informed.

In the previous edition, he ended with 18 wickets in 12 innings at an average of 17.55 and an economy rate of just 6.67 with one four-wicket haul. 

What it means for Mumbai Indians going forward

Their new ball pacer, Deepak Chahar, has been smacked for 87 runs in just 6.3 overs at an economy rate of 13.38 in this IPL 2026, having picked only one wicket. Hardik himself has struggled with the ball, along with Mitchell Santner, who hasn’t produced any consistent performance.

Against Punjab, MI posted a decent score of 195 runs in their allotted 20 overs, shouldering on the unbeaten 112 runs from their opener Quinton de Kock. But the visitors had a cakewalk in completing the chase by seven wickets with 21 balls to spare.

They need to change their planning and come up with different tactics for better results with the ball and getting back on track with a victory.