Former India player Aakash Chopra has taken a jibe at the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) bowling after their loss in their IPL 2026 match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He added that Jasprit Bumrah is bowling too many slower ones, which is making the veteran seamer predictable.
However, the Mumbai Indians posted a decent 195/6 after being asked to bat first in Match 24 of IPL 2026 in Mumbai on Thursday, April 16, as well. But the Mumbai Indians bowlers failed to defend the target as PBKS reached the target with seven wickets and 21 balls to spare as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India player said, “The less we talk about Mumbai’s bowling, the better it is. This has been Bumrah’s longest dry spell. He hasn’t gotten a wicket. Bumrah is bowling so many slower ones. The increase in his slower ones is unprecedented. He used to bowl one of six balls earlier. It’s nearly 50 percent at the moment.”
“He is doing that four or five balls out of 10. He is bowling 44 percent slower ones. He is bowling so many slower ones that it’s no longer effective. The batters are almost ready for slower ones. I stand by my thought process to a certain degree, that so many runs are scored around him that no one tries to hit him. They play him cautiously,” he further added.
“The Mumbai Indians need to really revamp and reload” – Aakash Chopra
“Deepak Chahar conceded 21 runs in the first over. So he had to be called for the second over. Then you bowled him another over in the Powerplay because the fifth over was expensive. As soon as there is an expensive over, it seems like you need to throw the ball to Bumrah. It doesn’t work like this. The ideal time for Bumrah to bowl is when you have bowled two restrictive overs,” Chopra explained.
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also added that all the other Mumbai Indians bowlers, apart from Allah Ghazanfar, were found wanting in their IPL 2026 match against the Punjab Kings.
“Ghazanfar bowled well, but if you see any of the others, whether it’s Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, or Hardik Pandya, all of them are doing ordinary bowling. The Mumbai Indians need to really revamp and reload. They will have to do something because the season isn’t going well,” he concluded.
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