3 min readUpdated: May 2, 2026 11:29 AM IST
It is an unusually poor season for Jasprit Bumrah for the Mumbai Indians. The wickets have not been coming as Bumrah is accustomed, and strangely enough, the Mumbai ace-pacer has taken a bit of tapping in recent games. Experts have observed that there is a dip in the pace of Bumrah, and he has also been over-reliant on the slower ones, which is a byproduct of playing on slightly sluggish surfaces at the backend of the T20 World Cup 2026 that is causing his downfall.
“I think it was also influenced a little bit by the back end of T20 World Cup. Because of the nature of surfaces, lots of games taken place, the slower ball became so effective. I think at the start of this tournament, it was kind of a hangover of that one was effective, let’s stick with it,” former South African cricketer Shaun Pollock said on Cricbuzz.
Reminding the strengths of Bumrah, Pollock said: “He still needs to understand that his speed deliveries, his different action, his ability to shape the ball, that still needs to go to. That’ll be the stuff that strikes up front in particular. If you come on in the second spell and you bowl those slower balls, that’s fine. I’m not saying he’s gone over the top, but I think there’s been a little bit more of a reliance on that delivery.”
Another expert, Simon Doull, too concurred with Pollock’s views and urged Bumrah to not to bowl a slower one in his first 12 deliveries. “I think he has gone over the top with the slower balls. I’d like to see him bowl the first 12 deliveries if he bowls two overs in the powerplay and not bowl his slow ball.”
Doull also expressed his concerns over Bumrah’s fitness, “Just, you know, his pace is down and whether that’s again a hangover of what’s happening in that setup if he’s not 100% fit, I don’t know, obviously coming off the World Cup. But I’d just like to see him hit a good hard length. If batters are good enough to hit you off that good hard length, then think about changing it, but too often too many bowlers go to something different for the sake of going to something different. His slow ball is a surprise and it’s a brilliant slow ball, but people are actually sitting there waiting for it a little bit this year.”
