Kamal Ghorui
Former Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh has defended Jasprit Bumrah amid the pacer’s underwhelming IPL 2026 campaign, while also raising concerns over the team’s overall bowling unit and lack of confidence. Bumrah, widely regarded as one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, has endured an unusually quiet season by his lofty standards, managing just three wickets in 11 matches at an economy rate of 8.51. Mumbai’s campaign came to an end after their defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur on Sunday, a result that officially knocked them out of the playoff race.
Although Bumrah bowled well at the death and briefly gave MI hope during RCB’s chase, Harbhajan believes the bigger issue lies in the team’s overdependence on him and the lack of support from the rest of the attack. “Jasprit Bumrah is the kind of bowler who can change a match at any moment. But relying too heavily on him is not the right thing to do,” Harbhajan said on JioStar. “I think the other bowlers in the side, like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya, are all low on confidence. The challenge in that camp is how to bring them back to the same level of confidence as the others.” Harbhajan pointed out that Mumbai have built their bowling plans around Bumrah for years, but felt the current setup has become overly dependent on the India pacer. “Mumbai Indians have depended on Bumrah ever since he came into the side, but at the moment, they are relying on him far too heavily,” he added. “Somebody else also needs to pick up wickets. Spinners, too, are a concern. I think the biggest weakness of this side is the lack of quality local spinners. There used to be some good Indian spinners in the past, but there is no one at this point, and that is a major gap in the squad.” Harbhajan, who was part of Mumbai’s golden era and won three IPL titles with the franchise between 2013 and 2017, also expressed disappointment over the team’s visible drop in intensity and belief this season. “The body language of Mumbai Indians, which also plays a big role, is something I have never seen like this before,” he said. “I have been part of this team for nearly 10 years. Even when we were losing, like in the season where we lost five in a row, our body language was never flat, the will to fight back was always there.” According to the former India spinner, the current MI squad lacks the confidence and leadership spark needed to recover from difficult situations. “Right now, that confidence is missing. Somebody needs to lead the way and say, ‘Whatever has happened is in the past. How we change things from here will depend on how we react on the field.’ It starts with one person, someone who needs to step up as that leader and take the team forward,” Harbhajan added.
