Mumbai Indians may boast one of the world’s finest fast bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah, but even his presence hasn’t been enough to control the flow of runs in IPL 2026. In their latest outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium, MI conceded a massive 240/4, underlining their ongoing struggles with the ball. Bumrah, once again, stood out as the most economical bowler, finishing with figures that translated to an economy rate of 8.8—significantly better than the rest of the attack.

Despite his consistency, the Mumbai Indians have now slumped to three consecutive defeats after starting their campaign with a win over the Kolkata Knight Riders. The bigger concern, however, lies in the lack of support around Bumrah. Among the nine bowlers used by MI this season, he remains the only one with an economy rate under nine, despite bowling the most overs.

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes MI need to rethink how they deploy Bumrah and, more importantly, address inefficiencies in the rest of their bowling unit.

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“When you look at that bowling attack, especially in high-scoring games, you have to assess what the rest of the attack is conceding beyond Bumrah’s four overs,” Faf du Plessis said. “They need to maximise his impact by using him at key stages, but also find answers around him. That could mean tactical changes or even different personnel, especially in the Powerplay.”

Chasing 241, the Mumbai Indians never quite found the momentum required. They eventually finished at 222/5, thanks largely to a fighting unbeaten 71 from Sherfane Rutherford.

At one stage, even reaching 200 looked unlikely after Rohit Sharma retired hurt and both Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma fell in quick succession. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that MI’s inability to keep up with the required run rate proved costly.

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“They needed to score at least 12 more runs to stay in the game, but the required rate kept climbing,” he noted. “Even while rotating strike, they couldn’t break free. Both their batting and bowling Powerplays are not delivering the results needed.”

For Mumbai Indians, the concern is clear—Bumrah is delivering, but the team around him needs to step up quickly.