New Delhi: Mumbai Indians Star Pacer Jasprit Bumrah The IPL is going through an exceptionally lean patch in 2026. Known to trouble the best batsmen in the world, Bumrah has been isolated this season, with little going his way. In five matches so far, he has conceded 164 runs without taking a wicket at an economy rate of 8.63.Against Punjab Kings, a turnaround was expected, but the struggles continued as he returned figures of 0/41. The frustration was palpable, with Bumrah seen in a viral video gathering the ball after his over and throwing it in anger.Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan also analyzed Bumrah’s decline in form on his YouTube channel and pointed to a possible reason. He highlighted the overuse of slower deliveries by the Mumbai Indians spearhead.“Wickets are very important with Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling. His form is not a big problem, but his average pace this season has been around 130 kmph. He is using the silver ball about 44% of the time, which means almost every other ball is slower,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.“Now why is Jasprit Bumrah doing this? I think it needs a deep look. If he bowls more fast balls and lowers the percentage of slow balls, the results will come. It’s a very simple solution. Bumrah doesn’t need coaching, but the numbers are telling what’s going on.”
“44 per cent slow balls and an average speed of less than 130 kph means he needs to increase his speed. Obviously, if you bowl more slow balls, your average speed will drop, but if you reduce the percentage of slow balls to around 35 per cent. If you keep it close to 30 to 35 per cent and bowl more fast balls, your slow balls will be more effective and if you bowl sea balls, you will be more efficient and You can reduce sea balls, even the batsman,” said Pathan.Mumbai Indians have now slipped to their fourth straight defeat of the season and are ninth in the points table. Their next match will be against Gujarat Titans on April 20.
