Over the years, Mumbai Indians have built a reputation for surviving chaos better than anyone else. Slow starts never mattered much as MI usually found a rhythm in the second half of the season, trusted their core and clawed their way back into the playoff race.
IPL 2026 never gave them that switch.
Their campaign officially collapsed after a heartbreaking two-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur, but frankly, the warning signs had been flashing since the opening weeks. Injuries kept disrupting the combinations, the older players struggled for rhythm and the bowling attack ran away at a pace Mumbai fans had probably never seen before.
Even the RCB defeat felt like a summation of the whole season.
Mumbai still had moments when they looked in control. They had RCB at 39/3 after the removal of Virat Kohli for a duck. Corbin Bosch repeatedly pulled them back into the game with a four-goal haul. However, once the pressure phase arrived late in the chase, MI once again lost control of the game.
This has happened far too often this season.
This was a Mumbai side that conceded 11.34 runs per match during the tournament, the worst figure ever recorded by any team in a single IPL season. Things got even uglier inside the Powerplay. MI conceded runs at 11.72 an over in the first six overs, again worst in the league.
This lack of control constantly forced the batting group to play catch-up cricket.
The bigger surprise was how often Mumbai looked disconnected despite having so many experienced names. Between Rohit Sharma, who is still the emotional face of the franchise, Hardik Pandya, who captains the side, and a dressing room full of top international cricketers, MI have rarely looked tactically or emotionally composed.
Head coach That’s exactly what Mahela Jayawardene admitted after being eliminated from the playoffs.
“We weren’t good enough. We weren’t consistent enough with the ball, with the bat, and that showed our range,” Jayawardene said after the Raipur defeat.
“We were probably two to three wins away from being in the same contender group to make the playoffs. But we didn’t get those wins.”
What probably hurt Mumbai the most was that the IPL itself quickly developed around them. Teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals have fully embraced the fearless batting and modern aggression of T20. MI often seemed stuck somewhere between eras. He’s not explosive enough to dominate games or disciplined enough to pressure teams conventionally.
TOO DEPENDENT ON JASPRIT BUMRAH
For almost a decade, Mumbai Indians always had one safety net: Jasprit Bumrah.
The problem in IPL 2026 was not just that Bumrah had one of his quieter seasons statistically. It was that the whole construction of the bowling alley seemed entirely dependent on how he would fix everything around it.
Bumrah finished with just three wickets in 10 matches and even went wicketless in his first five games, almost unthinkable by his standards. But a bigger problem sat around him. Jasprit Bumrah has just three wickets in 10 matches. (Image: Reuters)
Hardik Pandya achieved an economy of 12.7. Deepak Chahar escaped runs at 13.4 and over. Shardul Thakur struggled even more on 13.6.
The spin attack never really existed either.
Mumbai’s spinners have collectively picked up just four wickets in the first half of the season, maintaining the tournament’s worst spin economy rate at 11.83. This completely killed MI during the middle overs where the opposition sides were comfortably rotating the strike with no pressure on the scoreboard.
In an interview on JioStar, Anil Kumble explained the issue candidly.
“Mumbai Indians have depended on Bumrah since he came into the side, but they are too reliant on him at the moment. Someone else needs to pick up the wickets too.”
Kumble also pointed to India’s lack of quality spin options, something that used to be Mumbai’s forte.
“The biggest weakness of this side is the lack of quality local spinners,” he added.
And this weakness has constantly exposed them throughout the season.
HARDIK PANDYA NOT JUST THE ONLY PROBLEM
Captain Hardika Pandya will naturally remain under scrutiny as the numbers are brutal. Since taking over Mumbai, MI have lost 22 out of 37 matches under him.
Several tactical decisions have also failed this season. The changes in bowling during crunch moments looked reactive rather than proactive. There were games where Mumbai abused the Impact Player rule and others where Hardik looked visibly frustrated with his teammates on the field.
But to blame Hardik alone would probably ignore how unstable this entire season has become for MI. Hardik Pandya has not been a part of MI’s recent games. (Image: Reuters)
Rohit has missed several matches due to injury. Mitchell Santner has been ruled out for the season. Hardik himself missed the matches due to back spasms. Mumbai ended up using 20 different players during the campaign, the most of any side, constantly shuffling combinations due to injuries and form issues.
Jayawardene admitted that many of these changes were forced rather than tactical.
“What you probably didn’t know is that we’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of niggles, player injuries and some players not available,” he said.
Perhaps the bigger problem was body language.
Former MI skipper Harbhajan Singh, who spent years in Mumbai’s title-winning dressing rooms, pointed out something rarely associated with MI teams.
“Even when we were losing earlier, our body language was never flat. Right now that confidence is missing,” Harbhajan said.
That feeling remained visible for most of the season. This Mumbai side often looked strangely passive rather than combative once the games started to wind down.
OLDER PLAYERS DON’T PERFORM UP TO THE MARK
Mumbai’s biggest stars just never connected.
At one stage of the tournament, MI did not have a single batsman in the top 30 run-scorers list despite having one of the most decorated batting line-ups in the league.
Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed over 700 runs last season, managed just 195 runs in 11 innings this year. Hardik scored only 146 runs in eight innings alongside four wickets. Tilak Varma started the season with just 43 runs in his first five innings before showing flashes later on. Suryakumar Yadav had a bad season in IPL 2026. (Image: Reuters)
Even the power play has become wildly inconsistent.
Chasing 221 against KKR earlier in the season, Mumbai looked capable of playing modern aggressive T20 cricket. But the same batting line-up later collapsed to 29/3 against Chennai Super Kings in another crushing defeat.
Jayawardene still strongly defended the starting group after being dropped.
“The commitment, the effort they put in is incredible. The core group is pretty valuable to us. You can’t keep changing,” he said.
But IPL 2026 is also likely to confirm something unpleasant for Mumbai Indians.
This no longer feels like a champion side temporarily going through a rough patch.
For the first time in a long time, the Mumbai Indians really look like a franchise that is finding itself again.
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– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
May 13, 2026 1:48 PM IST
