Mumbai Indians’ wait for an IPL title continued as the five-time champions suffered an early elimination from the playoffs in the 2026 season. MI failed to defend 166 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and suffered their eighth loss of the season in 11 matches.
Former MI and Chennai Super Kings cricketer Harbhajan Singh reflected on MI’s struggles this week, highlighting that the team’s body language is something he has ‘never seen before’.
“The body language of the Mumbai Indians, which also plays a big role, is something I have never seen like this before,” Harbhajan told JioStar. “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.”
The former spinner stressed that someone in the team needs to put their hand up and halt the disappointment. “Right now, that confidence is missing. Somebody needs to lead the way and say, โWhatever has happened is in the past. How we change things from here will depend on how we react in the field.โ It starts with one person, someone who needs to step up as that leader and take the team forward.”
‘MI over reliant on Bumrah’: Harbhajan
Meanwhile, the former India international stressed that MI are heavily reliant on Bumrah and that the other bowlers are low on confidence. “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. I think the other bowlers in the side, like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya, are all low on confidence,” he said.
“The challenge in that camp is how to bring them back to the same level of confidence as the others. 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.”
Harbhajan stated that the spinners are also a concern. “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,” he added.
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