Mumbai Indians (ANI photo) Former Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh has defended Jasprit Bumrah amid the pacer’s underwhelming IPL 2026 campaign while raising concerns about the team’s overall bowling unit and lack of confidence. Widely regarded as one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, Bumrah endured an unusually quiet season by his lofty standards, managing just three wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 8.51. Mumbai’s campaign came to an end after they were defeated by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday, a result that officially knocked them out of the playoffs.
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Mahela Jayawardene reflects on MI’s disappointing IPL 2026 campaign Although Bumrah briefly gave MI hope in the RCB chase, Harbhajan believes the bigger problem lies in the team’s over-reliance on him and lack of support from the rest of the attack. “Jasprit Bumrah is the type of bowler who can change a match anytime. But relying on him too much is not right,” Harbhajan said on JioStar. “I think the other bowlers in the side like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya are all low on confidence. The challenge in this camp is how to get them back to the same level of confidence as the others.” Harbhajan pointed out that Mumbai had built their bowling plans around Bumrah for years, but felt that the current set-up had become too dependent on the Indian pacer. “Mumbai Indians depended on Bumrah from the moment he entered the side, but they are too reliant on him at the moment,” he added. “Someone else also needs to pick up wickets. The spinners are also a concern. I think the biggest weakness in this side is the lack of quality local spinners. There have been some good Indian spinners in the past but there is none at the moment and that is a big gap in the squad.” Harbhajan, who was part of Mumbai’s golden era and won three IPL titles between 2013 and 2017 with the franchise, also expressed disappointment at the visible drop in intensity and confidence in the team this season. “The body language of Mumbai Indians, which also plays a big role, is something I’ve never seen before,” he said. “I’ve been part of this team for almost 10 years. Even when we were losing, like in the season where we lost five in a row, our body language was never flat, there was always the will to fight.” According to the former Indian spinner, the current MI team lacks the confidence and spark of leadership needed to recover from difficult situations. “Right now, that confidence is lacking. Someone has to go down the road and say, ‘Whatever happened is in the past. How we turn things around from here will depend on how we respond on the field.’ It starts with one person, someone who has to stand up as a leader and take the team forward,” added Harbhajan.
