Head coach Mahela Jayawardene backed Jasprit Bumrah despite the pace ace going wicketless in five matches on the trot, but rued Mumbai Indians’ general ineffectiveness with the ball, especially in the Powerplay segment.
Bumrah was smacked for 41 runs in four overs as Punjab Kings chased down the target of 196 with 21 balls and seven wickets to spare in their IPL contest in Mumbai on Thursday.
“Bumrah is bowling well, it is just where we are not putting pressure in the powerplay,” Jayawardene told reporters after the match.
“They (opposition) know they don’t need to take too much risk against Bumrah. We tried a few different things which he is trying as well but they are batting well. I can’t put a finger (on something) and say that he hasn’t taken a wicket.”
The former Sri Lankan captain revealed that Bumrah carried a niggle at the start of the IPL 2026 but has pulled up well since.
“I think initially because he had a slight niggle which came from the World Cup,” he replied to a query on Bumrah’s inconsistent pace.
“We wanted to build him up (and) over the last few games his speeds have gone up. We’ve looked at all that so he’s very comfortable. Sometimes, you need a bit of luck as well.
“(Bumrah) bowled some really good balls initially to Shreyas (Iyer) but wasn’t lucky enough. Once he starts taking wickets he might not be able to stop him doing that,” Jayawardene added.
However, Jayawardene did not miss the fact that the MI bowlers lacked the precision so far this season.
“But as a (bowling) unit, like I said before, we’ve lacked that penetration in different surfaces and that’s something that we need to work (on) and see what we need to do,” he said.
