MI’s IPL 2026 struggles blamed on Jasprit Bumrah by ex-KKR star
The Mumbai Indians have now lost consecutive matches after a winning start to this season's IPL. Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has blamed MI's star pacer's lack of wickets as one of the central reasons for Mumbai's struggles early on in the tournament.
The MI vs RR match was not only a massive thrashing but also a massive learning experience for the five-time champions of the IPL. They will have to accept the fact that their bowling has not been in place for quite some time.
Though Mumbai qualified for the Qualifier 2 with this same attack, they added the likes of Allah Ghazanfar and Shardul Thakur to this attack; a former Indian batter pointed out the weakened impact of Jasprit Bumrah, which has highlighted MI's bowling struggles.
"It's been three matches, and he hasn't picked up a wicket" - Aakash Chopra on Jasprit Bumrah's reduced impact
Former Indian player Aakash Chopra highlighted the Mumbai Indians' bowling issues after they received a massive thrashing from the Rajasthan Royals batters on Tuesday. He further blamed Jasprit Bumrah, the star pacer, for the weak show, despite being the most potent weapon in their attack.
Bumrah registered 0/32 in his 3 overs. The cricketer pointed out how Bumrah has not been economical, giving away runs at 8 runs per over, and has been wicketless after three games into the season.
During a conversation on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra claimed, "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, bowls the difficult overs, but he even got hit in this match," he added.
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Ex-KKR batter claims no change in combination can sort MI's bowling woes
Chopra further continued as he pointed out that this has been the condition for most of the Mumbai Indians bowlers. Even the first game they won at the Wankhede Stadium was solely due to their batters, and no credit was given to their bowlers, who gave away 220 runs.
"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," he observed.
He further highlighted that their bowling woes could not be solved by any changes to the combination and hence, MI would need these bowlers to perform better if they wished to remain in the race for their 6th IPL title.
"Shardul Thakur, who picked up three wickets in a match and dismissed Vaibhav Suryavanshi as well, has an economy of 12.88, nearly 13. This is the bowling attack. If you think you will lift the trophy, you have to upgrade this bowling attack because no one is sitting outside with whom you can replace these players. It's not like things would change if you bring in Mitchell Santner or Corbin Bosch," Chopra elaborated.
"A guy alone scored 22 runs in the first over, and you were 22/3" - Aakash Chopra thrashes MI batters
In the same video, Chopra had some nice thrashing reserved for the Mumbai Indians batters who were dismissed awfully quickly while chasing such a massive total. MI probably lost the game in the powerplay.
The Royals had managed to score nearly double the number of runs Mumbai batters managed to put on in the powerplay. They were behind by 25+ runs, which went on to be the margin for the defeat in the contest.
"There is no chance to escape if you concede 150 runs in 11 overs, and even if there was a slight chance to escape, you were 22/3. A guy alone scored 22 runs in the first over, and you were 22/3, in which Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav were out," he said while rebuking the Mumbai batters.
He then went on to laud the Rajasthan Royals' young skipper Riyan Parag for rotating the bowlers to good merit, as well as credit the RR bowlers for playing their part really well. From Jofra Archer to Sandeep Sharma, every bowler did bowl their very best.
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IPL Mumbai Indians Jasprit Bumrah Hardik Pandya Trent Boult Deepak Chahar Shardul Thakur Corbin Bosch Mitchell Santner Allah Ghazanfar RR vs MIAbout the Author
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