Former India national cricket team all-rounder, Irfan Pathan has shared his bold thoughts on Mumbai Indians (MI) fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign.
Irfan Pathan said that leading fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is not injured; Instead, other factors are also contributing to his lack of wickets in IPL 2026.
Jasprit Bumrah has not got a single wicket yet in IPL 2026
32-year-old Bumrah is a GOAT – it’s a fact. But Bumrah is a human being – this is also a fact. Even with the presence of some top-class names, the current state of the Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling unit looks terrible.
In bowling, Bumrah has Trent Boult. The same Kiwi with whom he wreaked havoc in the Indian Premier League for a few seasons. Then, there is Deepak Chahar, who on his day, can destroy the top order of any batting unit, and then comes the man with the golden hand – Shardul Thakur.
In the spin department, MI have AM Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner – both exceptional. However, none of the bowlers have been able to perform well in IPL 2026, due to which Bumrah is bowling in multiple phases where he tries to prevent runs.
In 5 matches so far, Jasprit Bumrah has returned with figures of 0/35, 0/21, 0/32, 0/41, and 0/35 – which are very good considering the way runs are being scored extensively in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Jasprit Bumrah’s inability to take wickets is a problem for him – Irfan Pathan
However, Irfan Pathan, while speaking on his YouTube channel, said that Bumrah not taking wickets is a problem, and he needs to fluff his slower balls more and focus on bowling other balls at extra pace.
“Jasprit Bumrah not taking wickets is a problem for him. He is not able to bowl fast, and his slower balls are short. He needs to improve on that.”
Irfan Pathan said, “It doesn’t look like he is injured, but I think these two things are causing problems. He needs to bowl slower and bowl more fast.”
Shreyas Iyer runs the game very well – Irfan Pathan
In the same video, Irfan Pathan was all praise for Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer and opener Prabhsimran Singh for their stellar performance in the match against Mumbai Indians (MI). He elaborated:
“Shreyas Iyer runs the game very well when he is on the field and rotates his bowlers completely. We have seen this already, but when he bats, it seems he never loses control, be it chasing, bowling, or shot selection. When he hit Bumrah for a six off the short ball, it felt as if he was waiting for Bumrah to bowl the short ball. We were surprised by the fours he hit last year. Can’t forget, and he hit another amazing shot. We can see total cruise control in his batting.
“No matter how much you praise this 80 not out, it won’t be enough. He has shown very good control and improvement. He scored 500 runs last year, and looked like he was a good player who could bat aggressively. But he has shown maturity this year.”
“He is targeting his bowlers and also going against the slow bowlers. He was waiting for the slower bowlers from Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur. He knows that he can go against a bowler whose pace is not fast. He did not take the step against Jasprit Bumrah, but even when facing him, he showed aggression.”
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