Jasprit Bumrah kicked the ground in frustration after finishing his spell against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. The anger was directed at himself, for finishing yet another full quota of overs without taking a single wicket.
Bumrah has now bowled 122 balls without a wicket, his longest such stretch in the Indian Premier League. His poor numbers have reflected in Mumbai Indians’ fortunes as well. Since winning their opener against a below-par Kolkata Knight Riders side, MI have lost to Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, and now one of their fiercest rivals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The result means MI are now tottering at eighth position in the points table with a Net Run Rate of -0.772.
So, what has gone wrong with the mercurial Bumrah, unequivocally one of the greatest bowlers of this generation, and perhaps one of the finest to have ever graced the game? Why, in 122 deliveries, has not even one found a way through to fetch him a wicket?
The answer likely lies in his role, and the way he is being used.
Strap in. Let us explain.
Bumrah’s woes are directly related to the kind of overs he is bowling and how batters are approaching him in the 2026 IPL season. Opposition batters seeing him through, or choosing not to take risks against him, is nothing new.
But the way Hardik Pandya has deployed the fast bowler across four games has contributed to this wicket drought.
Hardik has used Bumrah in different phases in each of the four matches. In Mumbai’s first game against KKR, Bumrah bowled the 5th, 12th, 18th and 20th overs.
Against RCB on Sunday, it was different again. Bumrah bowled the 4th, 6th, 17th and 19th overs.
Here is a look at Bumrah’s overs this season:
- vs KKR: 5, 12, 18, 20
- vs DC: 2, 6, 13, 16
- vs RR: 2, 7, 10
- vs RCB: 4, 6, 17, 19
There has been very little continuity in his spells. He has largely been used as a defensive option, tasked with bowling yorkers and variations to stem the flow of runs.
That has had a clear consequence. Batters are content to see him through and then line him up when they sense a scoring opportunity, particularly towards the end of his spell.
Against RCB, he was taken on by Tim David, who hit him for a four and a six. Against Delhi Capitals, David Miller struck two boundaries in Bumrah’s final over. The only exception came against Rajasthan Royals, where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi disrupted his rhythm early, hitting him for two sixes in his first over.
Barely bowling in extended spells, combined with a largely defensive brief, has reduced Bumrah’s opportunities to attack and take wickets.
Mumbai Indians bowling coach Lasith Malinga summed it up while speaking to the broadcasters during the RCB game.
“Nowadays, most bowlers are using more variations and fewer yorkers. But as the tournament goes on, we need to bowl more yorkers and fewer variations. If you want to take wickets, you need to bowl one or two variations. If it does not work, leave it and try again next over,” Malinga said.
He went deeper into how overs are constructed, pointing out that overusing variations can reduce wicket-taking opportunities.
“Most of the time, when bowlers are trying to take wickets, they end up bowling too many wicket-taking deliveries. Those are risky, and batters can line them up. That is why I tell them to use a maximum of one or two such deliveries in an over. By wicket-taking deliveries, I mean slower bouncers, knuckleballs, and so on. You have to minimise those. Mostly, you should rely on your stock ball. That is how you create wicket-taking opportunities,” he added.
It is also worth noting that Hardik Pandya’s usage of Bumrah contrasts sharply with how Suryakumar Yadav handled him in the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar created clear blocks for Bumrah. If the opposition was top-heavy, Bumrah would bowl two overs in the powerplay, one in the middle, and one at the death. If the batting was middle-order heavy, he would hold Bumrah back and use him to choke the game through the middle.
That clarity is missing at the moment.
While fans are concerned about the lack of wickets, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes it is not necessarily a problem.
Ashwin argued that in T20 cricket, controlling runs can be just as valuable as taking wickets.
“The lack of wickets narrative for Bumrah can hamper the team’s cause. Him nailing yorkers and choking the opposition for every run is even more important than him looking to get wickets, especially at venues like the Wankhede,” Ashwin wrote on X.
“When you cannot bowl overs on the trot, your wicket-taking ability depends on your bowling partners who hand the over to you. We have had so many years of T20 cricket now, and bowling in partnerships as a defensive unit is still not fully understood,” he added.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin also pointed to tactical lapses, questioning some of Pandya’s decisions.
He highlighted the move to bring in Mayank Markande against Rajat Patidar, a known spin-hitter, as a turning point. That decision, along with Pandya’s own bowling, allowed RCB to push their total well beyond reach, from a manageable 210 to 240.
From there, the game slipped away quickly.
After the loss to RCB, Mumbai Indians find themselves in a familiar early-season hole, with just one win from four games.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
