Ninth place sits Mumbai Indians right now, just two victories tucked into eight matches. Shuffling bowlers around hasn’t helped much so far, leaving things shaky at best. That instability? It’s quietly become a major reason they’re struggling through IPL 2026. Last time out versus Sunrisers Hyderabad, they posted 243 runs batting first – looked strong then – but gave away 249 while still holding eight deliveries back. A high total meant nothing once the ball started reversing.
Jasprit Bumrah along with Trent Boult hasn’t delivered what was expected. Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar once trusted choices at the start found themselves left out later on
Still, the batting hasn’t quite clicked either. Trouble follows Suryakumar Yadav – eight games, just 162 runs, despite his role as deputy leader. Tilak Varma stumbles through streaks of uneven play. Hardik Pandya? Much like him. Missing sharpness, they’ve quietly drained value from Mumbai’s lineup.
Bodies worn down after 2026’s rough stretch – former player Ian Bishop points at the T20 World Cup as a likely cause. Instead of diving straight into IPL duties, rest might have shifted how things turned out. Still, he sees how it goes; timing bends to profit, not always to players. The sport now runs hard, leaves little room for breath between fights.
Bishop wished those men could’ve had some time off, just a couple of days really
“What Jasprit Bumrah, SKY and Arshdeep Singh from Punjab Kings and those guys and what they put out to win that T20 World Cup at home, must have been exhausting. I can’t imagine the energy that they must have put out in winning that in their home environment. Ideally, I would have liked some of those guys, particularly Bumrah, who was excellent right across the World Cup and was a big part of why India won, being given a break to refresh,” ESPNcricinfo expert Bishop answered India TV’s query ahead of IPL’s Revenge Week.
“To sit back, analyse, rest yourself and not just come back mentally strong but fine-tune whatever skills or planning, which will take you to another level. But that’s not the case because they are contracted to the franchises. So, my thing would be ideally I would have liked to see those guys get a few days’ break to enjoy the success they brought to the country and refresh themselves. But they came straight into the IPL, which I understand is another business side of it,” he added.
Back from a short injury layoff, Varun Chakaravarthy turned things around for KKR after a shaky beginning, someone pointed out. That kind of pause can help reset a player, they said. Still, no word came about if Mumbai ought to try the same path. While the idea might work elsewhere, thoughts stayed guarded on copying it at home.
“Varun was given some time out to try to recalibrate and it seems to have worked for him. That is one way to go about it,” he added.
Fans across India will find the next big showdown set for Friday night. This time, Mumbai face their toughest test yet when they meet Chennai under lights. The date is locked – May 2 brings another chapter of an old rivalry roaring back to life. Coverage starts early on both JioCinema and Star Sports channels. Expect loud crowds, sharp turns in play, maybe even a surprise cameo from past legends.
