Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene revealed on May 23, 2026, that a lingering physical injury and tactical adjustments by opposing teams contributed to Jasprit Bumrah's least productive Indian Premier League season.
According to statistics from espncricinfo.
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com, Bumrah managed only four wickets across 13 matches, yielding his highest career tournament average of 102.50 despite maintaining an economy rate of 8.36.
The fast bowler entered the tournament carrying a physical niggle after recording 14 wickets in eight games during the preceding T20 World Cup.
This initially reduced his delivery speeds during the first half of the domestic campaign.
Jayawardene noted that Bumrah required a gradual period of physical rehabilitation to regain his standard pace during the opening month of the schedule.
"I think coming back from the World Cup as well he had a slight niggle which he played with through the World Cup," Jayawardene said.
"So, we gave him adequate rest to come back.
The first four-five games, it was a gradual build-up for him to get over that niggle he had.
So, you could see the pace… dropped because of that."
The coaching staff observed that Bumrah regained his optimal velocity during the final five fixtures of the season, though the physical limitations disrupted his mechanical precision.
"And now he's back to his pace. The last four-five games have been good.
But obviously, when you're going through something like that, you do lose a little bit of sharpness of execution and all that because you're fighting something else.
