Five matches, 4 losses. Mumbai Indians are in a very bad position in IPL 2026. With only 2 points from 1 match, they are currently placed ninth in the points table. Despite Quinton de Kock’s brilliant century against Punjab Kings (PBKS) last night, they managed to register their fourth consecutive win.
Apart from some individual brilliance so far in the campaign, the team has lacked pace at key moments in their previous games. Now fans are wondering how the team will recover from the bad phase. To improve their form, the Mumbai Indians team management may consider several changes in their playing combination, including giving some rest to Jasprit Bumrah.
Why should Mumbai Indians rest Jasprit Bumrah?
Jasprit Bumrah’s off-form has been one of the growing concerns for Mumbai Indians in the current Indian Premier League season. The leading fast bowler has not got any wickets even after playing five matches, which is unexpected for Indian cricket fans.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 season, it was revealed through media reports that the star pacer’s workload management will be under question as the Men in Blue have several major tournaments to play. Preserving talent for future ICC events is not only the duty of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but also the duty of the franchise for which he plays.
Ups and downs in form are natural in cricket. Teams often choose to rest a cricketer to bring him back into form. For example, Sanju Samson in T20 World Cup 2026. Due to poor form, he was not a part of India’s playing eleven. But later, when the team needed him the most, he came off the bench and gave his best performance.
Hardik Pandya is still yet to prove himself as MI captain
There are some other concerns for Mumbai Indians along with Jasprit Bumrah. Captain Hardik Pandya is yet to prove himself as the leader of the team. After taking over the captaincy role from Rohit Sharma in IPL 2024, Pandya led the team to a bottom-place finish in 2024 with 4 wins from 14 matches. Last season, MI had a poor start but somehow managed to stabilize things to extend their run into the play-offs. Now, in the current season, they are ranked ninth in the league.
As a batsman, Hardik Pandya scored only 81 runs in four matches at an average of 27.00. And with the ball, the all-rounder has taken 2 wickets in 4 matches at an economy rate of 11.17.
There should also be discussion on Suryakumar Yadav
Another week-link in MI’s line-up is captain Suryakumar Yadav of India’s T20I set-up. In 5 matches and 5 innings, the middle-order batsman has so far scored a total of 51 runs at an average of 21.20. Since the last quarter of last year, Yadav has been struggling with his form with the national team as well. Apart from showing some glimpses of greatness, his batting remains cold most of the time.
If the Mumbai Indians team management is considering keeping its captain Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav on the bench, then Rohit Sharma is still with the team.
Read More: MI head coach blames entire bowling unit for Jasprit Bumrah not taking wickets in IPL 2026
