Jasprit Bumrah kicked the ground in frustration after completing his spell against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. Anger was directed at him as he completed another full quota of overs without taking a single wicket.
Bumrah has now bowled 122 balls without a wicket, his longest run in the Indian Premier League. His poor numbers also reflected in the fortunes of the Mumbai Indians. Since winning their opening match against a below average side Kolkata Knight Riders, MI have lost to Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and now one of their fiercest rivals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The result means that MI now languish at eighth position in the points table with a Net Run Rate of -0.772.
So what went wrong with the mercurial Bumrah, clearly one of the greatest bowlers of this generation and perhaps one of the best ever to grace the game? Why in 122 deliveries did not one find a way to get him a wicket? Bumrah wicketless in IPL after 4 matches, sounds weird right? (PTI photo)
The answer probably lies in its role and how it is used.
Buckle up. Let us explain.
Bumrah’s woes are directly related to the kind of overs he bowls and how batsmen approach him in the IPL 2026 season. Opposition batsmen seeing him through or choosing not to take a chance against him is nothing new.
But the way Hardik Pandya fielded the fast bowler in four games contributed to this drought.
Hardik used Bumrah at different stages in each of the four matches. In Mumbai’s first match against KKR, Bumrah bowled the 5th, 12th, 18th and 20th overs.
It was different again on Sunday against RCB. Bumrah bowled the 4th, 6th, 17th and 19th overs.
Here’s 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 was very little continuity in his spells. He was largely used as a defensive option, tasked with bowling yorkers and variations to stem the flow of runs.
This had a clear consequence. Batters are content to scan him and then line him up when they sense a scoring opportunity, especially toward 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 hit two boundaries in Bumrah’s final over. The only exception came against Rajasthan Royals where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi soon disrupted his rhythmhe hit him for two sixes in his first over.
Barely bowling in extended spells combined with a largely defensive brief reduced Bumrah’s attacking and wicket-taking opportunities. Is Bumrah’s timing spells close to his wicket-taking brilliance? (PTI photo)
Mumbai Indians bowling coach Lasith Malinga summed it up while talking to broadcasters during the RCB game.
“Nowadays, most bowlers are using more variations and less yorkers. But as the tournament goes on, we have to bowl more yorkers and less variations. If you want to take wickets, you have to bowl one or two variations. If it doesn’t work, leave it and try again next time,” Malinga said.
He went deeper into how overs are constructed and pointed out that excessive use of variations can reduce wicket-taking opportunities.
“Usually when bowlers try to take wickets, they end up taking too many wickets. That’s risky and the batsmen can line them up. That’s why I tell them to use a maximum of one or two such deliveries in an over. By wickets I mean slower bouncers, ankles, those balls you should have in stock and so on.” how you create scoring opportunities,” he added.
It is also worth noting that Hardik Pandya’s use of Bumrah contrasts sharply with Suryakumar Yadav’s handling of him in the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar made clear blocks for Bumrah. If the opposition was very strong, Bumrah would bowl two overs, one in the middle and one at the death. If the bat was middle-order heavy, he would contain Bumrah and use him to suffocate the game in the middle.
That clarity is lacking at the moment.
While fans are worried 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 as valuable as taking wickets.
“Bumrah’s lack of wicket-telling may hamper the team’s cause. How he nails yorkers and chokes the opposition for every run is even more important than him trying to get wickets, especially at places like the Wankhede,” Ashwin wrote on X.
“When you can’t bowl overs on the trot, your wicket-taking ability depends on your bowling partners handing it to you. We’ve had so many years of T20 cricket and partnership bowling as a defensive unit is still not fully understood,” he added.
Ashwin also pointed out tactical mistakes on his YouTube channel and questioned some of Pandya’s decisions.
He highlighted the move that was Mayank Markande against Rajat Patidar, a noted spin-hitter, as the turning point. This decision, along with Pandya’s own bowling, allowed RCB to push their total well out of reach, from a manageable 210 to 240.
The game quickly ran away from there.
After losing to RCB, Mumbai Indians find themselves in a familiar hole at the start of the season, 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
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
13 Apr 2026 12:38 IST
