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What happens when you have a solid squad for a big tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL) and your players fail to click when it requires the most? Different seasons, but the story remains the same for the five-time IPL winners, Mumbai Indians. After breaking their jinx of winning the IPL season opener, they now found themselves struggling in another season. This time, they are yet to click with their batting, while they are struggling with their bowling attack in every game.

Mumbai Indians have a pool of talented and skilled bowlers, including their all-time greats Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Deepak Chahar in their pace bowling attack. They also have AM Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner as two overseas spinners. Despite this talented lineup, MI has failed to rise up to the fans' expectations. They started their IPL 2026 with a victory over the KKR but lost their next two matches against the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals. The primary reason is their bowlers, especially the performance of Jasprit Bumrah. 

Jasprit Bumrah, who has a special talent in providing the breakthroughs irrespective of the stage, has failed to deliver so far. The right-arm pacer has been wicketless after playing three matches and has a higher economy rate than usual. He gave away 35 runs against the KKR, then 21 runs against the DC, and 32 runs in the most recent encounter against the RR. With Bumrah failing to provide the impact MI requires, it's affecting the team in taking control of the match. 

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Former Indian player turned commentator Aakash Chopra feels the same. He recently posted a video on his YouTube channel about the same issue. He said that Bumrah’s performance so far has been under par, and it’s hard to digest these numbers from a champion bowler like Bumrah. 

"Jasprit Bumrah, this is an interesting stat, actually. Jassi has bowled 11 overs in three matches, has conceded 88 runs, has an economy of 8.00, and is wicketless. It's been three matches, and he hasn't picked up a wicket. The economy is acceptable, as he bowls in the powerplay and at the death and bowls the difficult overs, but he even got hit in this match.” 

Chopra added that despite having a poor record in IPL 2026, Bumrah is still impressive in his numbers compared to other MI bowlers. 

Aakash Chopra further adds: 

“When you think about the others, you realize that Mumbai have a major bowling problem. Deepak Chahar has conceded 42 runs in four overs in two matches. He has an economy of 10.5. Hardik Pandya has an economy of 11.2. Allah Ghazanfar has an economy of 12. Trent Boult also has an economy of 12.”

If the Mumbai Indians need to get back on track, they will need to do a reassessment of their bowling and find the right balance ahead of their next clash. With Bumrah going wicketless, it will become hard for other bowlers to scalp wickets in the middle overs. The Mumbai Indians are set to clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their fourth encounter of the IPL 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium on April 12.