Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has been an exciting one for the fans. The 19th edition of the tournament enters its fifth match week on Monday. Earlier, former South African captain Faf du Plessis has expressed serious concern over Jasprit Bumrah’s form in the league. India’s star fast bowler has not got a single wicket in the IPL yet.
This is the first time that Jasprit Bumrah has not got any wicket in four consecutive matches of IPL. Does this reflect the bigger picture of the wickets being taken in the tournament, which are more of the batting, however, even with the bat, the wickets that Jasprit Bumrah has given for India and Mumbai Indians over the last few years.
Jasprit Bumrah is failing in IPL
Are there any other issues with Jasprit Bumrah, or has MI failed to utilize the speedster properly so far in the league? This question is arising after his hat-trick of defeats in IPL. Faf du Plessis believes that the five-time champion team trusted Jasprit Bumrah too much.
Faf suggested abandoning his over-dependence on the fast bowler and requested him to use the seamer at crucial stages of the match. The suggestion came after MI’s 18-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium. In a match in which 450+ total runs were scored, Bumrah took 0/35.
Mumbai Indians need to find answers- Faf du Plessis
“When you look at that bowling attack, especially in high-scoring games of 250 or more, you have to assess what the rest of the attack is offering apart from Bumrah’s four overs, which are usually very economical. That’s where Mumbai Indians need to find answers,” Du Plessis told Star Sports.
“They need to maximize Bumrah’s impact by using him in key stages, but it is not going to be easy with a strong batting line-up constantly dominating. They will have to sit down and reevaluate their approach, especially in the powerplay, whether that involves tactical changes or bringing in different personnel,” he said.
Problem for Mumbai Indians’ starcast team?
MI failed to chase the mammoth target of 241 runs as they could only manage 222/5 in 20 overs against RCB. This is the first time that the jointly most successful franchise has lost three consecutive matches in IPL history. MI won their first game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and since then, they have failed to score any points.
Mumbai is currently placed 8th in the table and is looking quite dejected after three consecutive defeats. Having too many star options for the team has led to the downfall of the team and them not being able to handle failure. They have also been a strong team in batting in the tournament and they have more confidence in Bumrah.
None of the other bowlers have been economical or taken wickets at regular intervals, which has caused serious problems for the team. Management needs to find solutions to get back to winning ways; Another defeat will likely knock the team out of the playoff qualification scenario. MI’s next match will be against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday.
Also read: Hardik Pandya suspended? MI captain faces heavy fine after defeat against RCB