Should Mumbai Indians give Jasprit Bumrah a rest in IPL 2026?

Mumbai Indians' Jasprit Bumrah struggles with wickets and pace in IPL 2026 amid team's poor performance.

Bumrah back in spotlight Jasprit Bumrah remains a major discussion point in IPL 2026 due to his lack of wickets, reduced speed, and concerns over Mumbai Indians' handling. The franchise's management has publicly stated Bumrah is 'up for the challenge' and will 'get wickets when the time comes.' His seventh game without a wicket against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday added to the debate, with 45 runs conceded in his spell. ## Expert calls for honest chat Former players Sanjay Bangar and Veda Krishnamurthy suggested Mumbai Indians' leadership speak directly with Bumrah to assess his well-being. Veda stated the team's coach, captain Suryakumar Yadav—who is vice-captain—and Rohit Sharma should ask Bumrah if he feels fully fit or needs a short break. 'We are in that space that the management, or coach or even captain - Surya[kumar Yadav] is pretty close to him, he is the vice-captain of the squad - and Rohit [Sharma] is around, they can probably honestly sit and have a chat,' Veda said. 'Ask him: 'are you feeling 100% from within'; 'do you want to take a break for a game or so'.' ## Bumrah's response matters Veda believes an open conversation could reveal Bumrah's true condition and lead to a stronger comeback. 'And if he does that, I think if he says 'no, I am good to go, I will play', you will probably see a better version of him, because he will try to push even more harder… an honest conversation is something [that's] just, just to have that reassurance saying that 'I need a break' or 'I can go ahead and play'.' ## MI faces tough decisions Bangar added that Mumbai Indians must consider playing without Bumrah if they are willing to accept a lower finish in the points table. 'It also boils down to what the coach and the management is thinking,' Bangar said. 'I mean, from a coaching perspective or from a management perspective, if MI are okay to play without Bumrah, if MI are okay to maybe finish the season in the lower ranks, so to say, as far as the point stable is concerned, if that is the case, then I think Bumrah may probably in all likelihood take that to call of, you know, not playing the rest of the games.' ## Another rough outing details Bumrah's latest performance saw him bowl the second over against Lucknow Super Giants and concede ten runs without drama. In the fourth over, he struggled again, giving away a wide, a six to Mitchell Marsh off a no-ball, followed by another four off the free-hit. Eight balls later, 21 runs had been scored off him. He returned in the 14th over and completed nine deliveries to concede just seven runs, as Aiden Markram and Himmat Singh struggled to accelerate. ## Bumrah's effort and potential Bangar praised Bumrah's determination despite the tough outing, noting his body language showed visible frustration. 'He is trying very, very hard and it's very unlike Bumrah to go for 31 in the first two overs. An average pace of 134 with the fastest being 141 [in the game]. So he is trying his heart out..' Bangar believes Bumrah should be given two strong early overs instead of being used in the second and fourth. Veda also highlighted Bumrah's improved death overs, saying, 'He didn't give much [away] in those two overs. He looked brilliant; the dipping yorker that we talked about, the slower one where he was deceiving Markram and Himmat Singh consistently, I think that should give [him] a lot of confidence.'