Former India and Mumbai Indians off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has come out in defense of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is going through a difficult phase in IPL 2026.
Like Bumrah, Mumbai Indians are also struggling for form and are out of the IPL season with three matches left. On Sunday, MI’s defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Raipur formally knocked them out of the race for the playoffs in this tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2026
After a fruitful campaign in the T20 World Cup in March, Jasprit Bumrah has found it difficult to survive in the IPL this year.
In 11 matches, he has taken only 3 wickets at an average of 116.53 and economy of 8.51. These are not numbers that one would normally associate with him.
Even against RCB on Sunday, Bumrah did not get any wicket, but he bowled a brilliant 19th over to create excitement in the last over. However, Raj Bawa could not defend 15 runs in the last over.
Jasprit Bumrah’s poor form has forced other MI bowlers to take on more responsibility than they are used to. MI’s star-studded batting performance has also been very poor this year.
“It is not right to trust Jasprit Bumrah too much” – Harbhajan Singh
Speaking on JioStar, Harbhajan said that despite the lack of wickets, Jasprit Bumrah is not necessarily the villain of MI’s season. He said that other bowlers also had low confidence and it was not right to put the entire blame on Bumrah.
He said, “Jasprit Bumrah is such a bowler who can change the course of the match at any time. But it is not right to trust him too much. I think other bowlers in the team like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya are less confident.”
“The challenge in that camp is how to get him back to the same confidence level as the others. Mumbai Indians have been relying on Bumrah ever since he came into the team, but at the moment, they are relying on him a lot more.”
“Someone else needs to take wickets. Spinners are also a matter of concern. I think the biggest weakness in this team is the lack of quality local spinners. There used to be some good Indian spinners in the past, but there are none at the moment and that is a big gap in the team,” he said.
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“Now Mumbai Indians are not the same as before” – Harbhajan
Harbhajan played for Mumbai Indians between 2008 and 2017 and won three IPL trophies with the franchise. He was also the captain of the team for some time.
Harbhajan compared his time with the team to today’s Mumbai Indians. He said that even when MI had lost many matches in a row, their body language had not fallen the way it has now.
“The body language of Mumbai Indians, which plays a big role, is something I have never seen before. I have been a part of this team for almost 10 years. Even when we were losing, like in the season where we lost five in a row [2015]Our body language was never flat, the will to fight back was always there,” he said.
“At the moment, that confidence is missing. Someone needs to lead and say, ‘Whatever happened is in the past. How we turn things around from here will depend on how we respond on the field.’ It starts with one person who has to step up as a leader and take the team forward.”
