The Mumbai Indians have long been habitual slow starters in the Indian Premier League.
However, the side that built its legacy on turning sluggish beginnings into title-winning campaigns has struggled to replicate that formula since the turn of the decade.
Five-time champions between 2013 and 2020, MI snapped a 13-year run of opening-match defeats with a convincing win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026. But it proved a false dawn, as they slipped back into a familiar pattern, losing their next four matches on the bounce.
The concerns, though, run deeper for MI, who appear to be caught between two eras.
Four of MI’s five retentions ahead of the previous mega auction – Rohit Sharma (38), Suryakumar Yadav (35), Hardik Pandya (32) and Jasprit Bumrah (32) – underline an ageing core, leaving the squad among the oldest in the competition.
MI’s IPL 2026 bowling unit has struggled to assert control, while the batting group has failed to keep pace with the league’s rapidly evolving scoring trends. The numbers and data suggest MI are no longer dictating terms as they once did.
Here’s a closer look at the reasons behind MI’s difficult IPL 2026 campaign so far.
Losing control in powerplay
Control in the first six overs was once a defining feature of MI’s title-winning years, with the likes of Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult leading the attack.
However, MI’s bowling powerplay numbers in IPL 2026 tell a different story. They conceded 78/1 against KKR, 59/0 in a shortened 3.2-over phase against RR, 71/0 versus RCB, 61/2 against PBKS and 73/2 against CSK.
Even MI’s best powerplay outing economically – 42/2 against DC – failed to translate into sustained control as the game slipped away in the middle overs.
Jasprit Bumrah’s rare dip and lack of support
Jasprit Bumrah remains a world-class operator but the Indian quick went wicketless in his first five matches of IPL 2026.
He eventually broke the drought with a wicket off the first ball against the Gujarat Titans, but even after seven games, he averages 105 despite maintaining a respectable economy of 8.07.
While Bumrah has kept things tight, teams have been content to see him off and attack elsewhere. With Hardik Pandya (12.66), Trent Boult (12.22), Deepak Chahar (13.38) and Shardul Thakur (13.57), conceding at high economy rates, MI have struggled to apply pressure from the other end.
Rohit Sharma’s injury disrupts stability
Rohit Sharma’s injury has unsettled the Mumbai Indians’ top order. The 38-year-old Indian T20 World Cup-winning captain began IPL 2026 in style, smashing 78 off 38 against the Kolkata Knight Riders to power a chase of 220, and later chipped in with a 35 off 26 as an Impact Player against the Delhi Capitals.
However, Rohit Sharma hasn’t stepped on the field since being retired hurt against the RCB on April 12. In the three matches Rohit Sharma has not played this season so far, MI’s best opening stand is 12 runs.
Falling behind in batting powerplays
MI have also struggled to keep pace with the league’s evolving powerplay demands.
Since the start of IPL 2025, they have crossed the 70-run mark in the first six overs only twice – a stark contrast in an era where rapid starts have become the norm.
This year, in the batting powerplays after their win over KKR, MI managed 46/3 against the GT, 48/2 versus PBKS, 62/0 while chasing 241 against the RCB, 30/3 in a 3.2-over phase against RR, 41/2 against the Delhi Capitals and 29/3 versus CSK.
MI repeatedly going on the back foot early has become a pattern.
Middle-order misfires and lack of next-gen firepower
MI’s middle order has not stepped up when their top order has not come off, with Tilak Varma’s century against the Gujarat Titans being the sole exception.
Suryakumar Yadav (157 runs in seven matches) and Hardik Pandya (97 in six) have struggled to impose themselves in games where early wickets have fallen.
More broadly, MI appear short on the kind of high-impact, fearless hitters that define modern T20 batting. The absence of emerging domestic stars – players in the mould of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal or Prabhsimran Singh – has left their batting unit looking one-paced.
Tilak Varma, MI’s leading top-scorer this season with 181 runs, sits outside the top 20 in the Orange Cap race after seven matches.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/mumbai-indians-ipl-2026-season-performance
