New Delhi: Jasprit Bumrah didn’t have an ideal outing in IPL 2026 and it is evident from the Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer’s numbers. He featured in 13 matches and bowled a total of 49 overs throughout the campaign. The impact, which is expected of India’s premier pacer, was, however, missing as he finished with just four scalps this season. The only positive was his economy, which was under 9.
The drought in wickets led Bumrah to script an unwanted, in fact the worst record by any bowler in T20 history. Bumrah finished the season with a bowling average of 102.5, which the worst by anyone in the format who has bowled a minimum of 40 overs in a single tournament.
Bumrah’s lack to create inroads was a key reason behind MI’s disappointing campaign in addition to other underwhelming performances by other senior pros.
Why Bumrah struggled in IPL 2026
As revealed by MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene ahead of the clash against Rajasthan Royals, which Bumrah was rested for, the pacer was managing a niggle that he picked during the T20 World Cup played right before the season. Jayawardene blamed it for the pace spearhead losing his “sharpness” despite the franchise giving him enough recuperation time.
“(It is due to) a combination of a few things. Coming back from the (T20) World Cup, he had a slight niggle which he played with through the World Cup, so we gave him adequate rest to come back,” Jayawardene had told reporters.
“(In) the first 4-5 games, it was a gradual build-up for him to get over that niggle he had. You could see the pace was dropped because of that, and now he’s back to his pace. The last 4-5 games have been good. But obviously, when you’re going through something like that, you do lose a little bit of sharpness of execution and all that because you’re fighting something else. But I think health-wise, it’s 100 per cent (but it is) unfortunate that the season is (now) over for us,” Jayawardene weighed further on Bumrah’s dip in form.
