File photo of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. New Delhi: Mumbai Indians became the second team to be relegated from the Indian Premier League after losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the latest thriller on Sunday. The result means powerhouse MI will be without silverware for the sixth consecutive season – the longest trophy drought in their history – and miss out on the play-offs for the fourth time since 2022.Since winning back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020, there has been a steep decline for the franchise. Now is the time to get their house in order before they start a much needed reset. As reported by TimesofIndia.com earlier this month, MI’s dressing room remains far from ideal and inconsistent performances from star players have not helped the team.
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Mahela Jayawardene reflects on MI’s disappointing IPL 2026 campaignSome individual performances – Ryan Rickelton’s firepower at the top, Rohit’s early brilliance, Tilak Varma’s two strikes and Corbin Bosch with the ball – raised hopes, but inconsistency continued to drag the side down. Hardik Pandya was not at his best with either the bat or the ball and often appeared in the middle of the game. With the season effectively over, MI need to make the most of their remaining matches against Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.Suryakumar Yadav, who has been under pressure due to his extended slender bat, needs to make way for the youngster in the MI playing XI as the right-hander scored just 195 runs in 11 matches. Tilak Varma scored a fighting half-century against RCB, but the left-hander’s returns have been erratic, reflected in his tournament tally of 261 runs from 11 matches. Of these, 158 runs came in just two innings, while the remaining nine innings produced only 103 runs.While Jasprit Bumrah received a lot of flak for his low wickets, the ace seamer bowled his heart out without much support from the other end. With the campaign almost over, MI need to do Bumrah a favor and let him rest for the meaningless last three games.
Jasprit Bumrah of Mumbai Indians bowls during the Indian Premier League 2026 match. (ANI)
Plus, is it time to test the bench warmers and give the underperforming seniors a break? Head coach Mahela Jayawardene seems unprepared for this and continues to back the ‘core group’.“They’re also trying to do their best. If I’d known he had anything to do with it, I’d have spoken to them. But the commitment and the effort they’re putting in is incredible. So I was pretty determined. When Ro (Rohit Sharma) got injured and came back to bat the way he did, that sums it up. I mean, the starting group is pretty valuable to us. You can’t just keep changing.“We went with the confidence and trust we had in them. And then it is what it is. Like I said, it’s hard for me to move on. They had a really good World Cup, won it and so on. So I think it’s just that we weren’t good enough as a unit,” Jayawardene said after MI were eliminated.
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What do you think is the main reason behind MI’s poor performances this season?
MI are not used to being in the position they are in this season and the real challenge now will be to avoid another tenth place finish. Unless they make some much-needed changes, a third wooden spoon finish in the last five seasons is very much on the cards.
