May 26, 2026
Going into this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League, I had tipped the Mumbai Indians to be one of the competition’s favourites. A team stacked with quality and featuring players in red-hot form following the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup too. However, now, at the end of the IPL league phase, they are ninth: eight points, four wins out of fourteen, and the third-lowest NRR in the competition too.
What has happened?
India captain Suryakumar Yadav watches on as MI fall to defeat against SRH.
When put into context, Mumbai Indians’ catastrophic season is genuinely stunning. Their side features experienced players like Trent Boult. Also, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, two players who have a combined 24,985 T20 runs between them. The squad also features some of T20 cricket’s best finishers and all-rounders: Sherfane Rutherford, Corbin Bosch, and Will Jacks. Furthermore, in a format largely dictated by form, confidence, and momentum, all three of these players came into IPL 2026 following very good T20 World Cups.
T20I World Cup Averages for MI all rounders
- Will Jacks-226 runs at an average of 56, whilst averaging 22 with the ball
- Corbin Bosch-11 wickets at an average of 17 and an economy rate of 7.64
- Sherfane Rutherford-averaged 61 with the bat
Not to mention Hardik Pandya: a two-time World Cup winner with India, a five-time IPL winner (with four of those coming with Mumbai Indians), and a player who also performed excellently at the 2026 World Cup. MI possess a terrific core of all-rounders, something that has been a key route to success in franchise cricket. Add to that the leadership of two international captains in Suryakumar Yadav and Mitchell Santner. As if MI could not get any more stacked, they also have the best white-ball bowler in the world — Jasprit Bumrah. So, how on Earth could they have finished second last, with their joint-highest number of losses ever?
Mumbai Indians are historically the joint most successful franchise in the IPL’s history with a record five titles, equalled only by the Chennai Super Kings.
The answer could well be a lack of team cohesion. This is something that happens all the time in elite-level sport. For a team to be successful, they need cohesion and unity as well as quality on the pitch. When a large number of high-level players are thrown into one team, it can easily cause friction and tension. Examples in football include PSG’s super team, or the Real Madrid side of today: squads with immense quality, but too many superstars causing tension and upsetting the balance of the changing rooms. There are plenty of top-notch cricketers in Mumbai Indians’ squad, and that might be the problem. Add to this the fact that cricket is a global game. There are nine overseas players in the squad, hailing from six different nationalities, making it even harder to build a united dressing room.
The IPL mega auction, an event that takes place every three years, causing widespread changes for all the teams taking part.
Furthermore, due to the regularity of the auction, this group of cricketers are not able to grow and play together for more than a few years (notwithstanding injuries and availability issues) before being changed and replaced. Hardik Pandya was the man given the task of captaining and leading the side. After being released by Mumbai Indians in 2021, Pandya was appointed captain by rival franchise outfit Gujarat Titans. In his first year leading any team, Pandya captained GT to a maiden IPL title, before playing a key role in their run to the final, as both a captain and a player, the following season in 2023. The following year, Pandya returned to the Wankhede and replaced the legendary Rohit Sharma as captain. His tenure as skipper has been mercurial, as he captained the Mumbai Indians to a tenth-placed finish in 2024. Then, in IPL 2025, he led them to the playoffs. This year was Pandya’s third as captain and has been a turbulent season. Following defeat to RCB, which mathematically confirmed MI could not reach the playoffs, Pandya briefly unfollowed the team on Instagram. A trivial and fairly low-key episode, but still an event that showed a sense of disunity around the club. Pandya himself is something of a maverick, and that is partly what makes him so good. At GT, his philosophy of backing and supporting his players worked well. However, at MI, success has been limited. Which begs the question: why?
As mentioned above, this squad features two current international captains, an ex-Mumbai Indians captain, and a former international captain. That is a lot of leadership and personality in one room, and whilst a cricket team’s skipper is the main source of leadership and direction, senior team players also play a role. Conflicting philosophies regarding tactics and approaches to games may well have been a contributor to MI’s chaotic and disastrous season.
However, the problems can also quite simply, be traced to MI’s star names underperforming too.
After an incredible T20 World Cup, it was a disappointing campaign from Jasprit Bumrah, who took his first wicket six games into the season.
The issue of team cohesion certainly will have contributed, but it is impossible to look past the fact, that from MI’s star studded line up, very few players actually performed. The starkest example, is Jasprit Bumrah. The two time World Cup winner came into IPL 2026 in the form of his life. Bumrah finished as the top wicket taker, and had figures of 15-4 in the final against New Zealand where he was named as player of the match. This year in the IPL however, Bumrah has had a miserable year.
Bumrah in the T20 World Cup
Wickets-14
Average-12.42
Economy rate-6.21
Bumrah in IPL 2026
Wickets-4
Average-102.5
Economy rate-8.36
Those numbers are like night and day, with only the economy rate staying fairly low. Why Bumrah struggled so much compared to the World Cup is another matter, but his collapse in form has certainly played a part in MI’s struggles this season. The same can be said, for his India team mate, Suryakumar Yadav. The India captain’s average has also nosedived compared to past tournaments. Yadav averaged 65 in IPL 2025, striking at 167.91. This season, his batting has decreased in both volume and speed as he averaged 21 at an SR of below 150. This pair are not the only two that have lost form, with captain Pandya and veteran Boult also struggling this year. Pandya had his fourth least prolific year with the bat, whilst both players had economy rates that passed 11-high even for modern standards.
Mumbai Indian’s big names failing to deliver is of course a key reason as to why they finished ninth. The underlying issue however, is that no one stepped in to fill the void. In the race for the Purple Cap, MI don’t have a single player in the top ten, showing that if their main bowlers-Bumrah and Boult aren’t firing, then no one is. Similarly, without runs from Mumbai Indians most prolific batsmen over the last few years-Yadav and Sharma, no one steps in to provide. The highest ranked MI player on the Orange Cap rankings, is South African wicket keeper, Ryan Rickleton. Shockingly this year, just one MI batsman passed 400 runs, and only five scored more than 200. Perhaps, some responsibility can be attributed to MI’s recruitment staff. Cricket is an increasingly tactical game, and it is evolving too.
Average scores in the IPL are increasing with each passing season.
Boundaries are smaller, bats are harder, pitches are flatter…it is no secret that scores in the IPL are on the rise. Crucially, even the best bowlers are getting hammered and finding it much harder to take wickets and be economical. It no longer requires an elite hitter like Chris Gayle or AB De Villiers to take ten or twelve runs off an over from someone like Bumrah or Archer. Other sides, like RCB or the Rajasthan Royals seem to have understood this, and have changed their tactics accordingly. MI have failed to evolve however. In my view, they seem to be stuck playing a game from the 2010s, where big names, experienced leaders, and a few death bowlers are enough. Their last title win, coming in 2020 suggests that MI have failed to evolve with the new game. Especially considering that the rise in scores of 200+ started in 2021.
It seems as though a combination of things have contributed to the Mumbai Indian’s disastrous season, ranging from a lack of team cohesion, a failure to evolve with the modern game and their biggest names dropping form and not delivering in key moments.
