IPL 2026: Will Mumbai Indians allow Jasprit Bumrah the rest he badly needs?

CHENNAI: On Saturday evening, Mumbai Indians once again left it on Jasprit Bumrah to try and achieve the near impossible--defend 160 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against the Chennai Super Kings.

Bumrah bowled his heart out, dismissed the red-hot Sanju Samson, and took 1-20 in three overs. But CSK played him out, attacked from the other end, and won easily.

That has been the case right through this IPL - in nine games, Bumrah has already bowled 33 overs going at a rate of 8.61, when the others have bled runs far more profusely. MI want Bumrah to do the defensive and attacking duties at the same time, and the jaded paceman, who has been playing continuous cricket since the beginning of the T20 World Cup, is struggling to deliver the wickets.

Predictably enough, he is copping some of the blame for the dismal MI performance, who are all but out of contention for a play-off berth. And that brings us to the important question: “Will MI rest him now for the rest of the tournament?” MI coach Mahela Jayawardene didn’t seem to buy the idea at the press meet after the Saturday mauling. “We are not yet out, are we?” Mahela turned to the accompanying media manager, who vigorously nodded to let the coach know that there’s still life left in the campaign.

“It’s too early for me to say any-thing, we still have five more games, anything can happen for us. We just need to finish the tournament positively and see what happens. There’s a lot more cricket to be played, I don’t think mathematically we’re out from the tournament, so I’m going to fight and I’m sure the rest of the boys will do the same as well,” Jayawardene said when asked about resting Bumrah for the rest of the tournament.

Maybe someone should remind the Sri Lankan legend about 2022, when MI were enduring a campaign as wretched as this one. They won only four games and finished last, but Bumrah was made to play all the 14 games. He bowled 53.2 overs in the entire tournament out of his available 56, took 15 wickets and had an economy rate of 7.15.

Brilliant figures no doubt, but what happened after that spelt nightmare not just for Bumrah, but also the Indian team. Bowling flat out in meaningless games, Bumrah suffered a back stress fracture, was out of action for 11 months and India lost the T20 World Cup semifinal to England by 10 wickets without their spearhead.