3 minutes of readingApril 13, 2026 04:43 pm IST
Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has suggested that Mumbai Indians must stop over-relying on pacer Jasprit Bumrah, urging them to use the seamer at key stages of the match. Mumbai Indians, who started with a win against Kolkata Knight Riders, are yet to win any of their other three matches and Bumrah failed to open his account in all 4 matches.
“When you look at that bowling attack, especially in high-scoring games of 250 or more, you have to evaluate what the rest of the attack is conceding beyond Bumrah’s four overs, which are usually very economical. That’s where Mumbai Indians need to find answers,” du Plessis told Star Sports.
“They need to maximize Bumrah’s impact by using him at key stages, but it doesn’t get any easier if strong batting line-ups continue to dominate. They will have to sit down and re-evaluate their approach, particularly in the Powerplay, whether that involves tactical changes or bringing in different personnel,” he added.
Mumbai’s last defeat came on Sunday against Royal Challengers Bengaluru when they conceded 240 runs and failed to chase it, falling short by 18 runs. Among the six players used, Bumrah was the most economical at 8.80 and gave away 35 runs in 4 overs. Except captain Hardik Pandya, the other 4 players had an economy of 10+.
“I think there will always be some catching up to do. I think it has been the last two games as a bowling unit or even as a batting unit, we have been catching up with the game rather than leading it. We really need to reflect, we really need to see what is the best we can do and how we can get that momentum and that click that we need,” Pandya said after their loss to RCB at Wankhede.
“To be honest, we have to rethink a lot of things now. It’s definitely not working. In a couple of games we have won the toss, but maybe we need to see what are the other options as well as the batting group or the bowling group that we can have. We still have to bat well, we still have to bowl well, irrespective of the toss,” Hardik admitted.
