Former India offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently sat down to analyse what went wrong with the Mumbai Indians and their star-studded line-up in IPL 2026.
After winning just 4 of their 14 matches, MI avoided last place on the points table only because of their superior net run rate in comparison to that of the Lucknow Super Giants.
The Hardik Pandya-led franchise failed to recreate the magic of last year, when the team recovered from winning just 1 of their first 5 matches to winning 7 of their last 9 (including 6 in a row) and qualified for the playoffs. In fact, MI made it as far as Qualifier 2.
Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
MI had an auspicious start to the season when they won their season-opener after a gap of 14 years, but that was exactly where it stopped. MI lost each of their next four matches, and they were suddenly in trouble.
A win against the Gujarat Titans was flanked by a second losing streak of three matches on the other side. MI were running out of time and simply never found it.
The last ball nail-biting loss to RCB in Raipur confirmed the team’s elimination for the third time in the last five IPL seasons. The team that won five trophies in the space of 8 seasons between 2013 and 2020 has now gone 6 seasons in a row without one.
In 2026, injuries also played their part in stopping the Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma missed matches in the middle because of a toe and a hamstring injury. Hardik Pandya missed two matches near the end because of a back spasm.
Jasprit Bumrah was revealed to be playing through an injury, while both Mitchell Santner and Quinton de Kock were ruled out for the entire season.
Ashwin analyses MI’s problems
Ravichandran Ashwin took to his YouTube channel and analysed all the things that went right and wrong for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026.
Ashwin started with the big elephant in the room – Jasprit Bumrah. In 13 matches, Bumrah took just 4 wickets this year and had a bowling average of 102.50. The worst for any bowler in a single T20 tournament, let alone the IPL.
“This is the first time in the history of IPL that a bowler has averaged over 100 after playing the full season, and that’s Jasprit Bumrah. I don’t think anybody would have believed me if I had said this before the season,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin also said that the Mumbai Indians might look to part ways with Trent Boult despite the ‘One Family’ epithet. Boult joined MI in 2025 for the price of INR 12.50 crores.
“I think they will release Trent Boult to free up their purse. That I am very sure of. But apart from that, what other changes can they make? It is very risky because you have players with a pedigree, and if they want to play, leaving them is not an easy decision. Mumbai Indians’ tag line is ‘One Family’, and they follow that,” he added.
Boult, too, did not fare any better in the tournament and was eventually dropped from the playing XI. In five matches, the Kiwi southpaw took just 2 wickets at a bowling average of 94 and an economy rate of over 11.
“It could be an injury” – Ashwin on Hardik Pandya
Ashwin also went on to specify what he thought was the reason for Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s poor form in the tournament.
Hardik Pandya made just 206 runs in 10 matches at an average of 22.89 and a strike rate of 138. With the ball, he took just 4 wickets at an average of almost 65 and an economy of almost 11.5.
Ashwin said that fatigue and/or injury could be the reason why Pandya was unable to go back to his spin-hitting form of the past few years.
“Hardik used to bat at No. 4 and No. 5 for Gujarat Titans. He used to take down the spinners. But this time, it looks like he has a small problem with the hard length ball. I don’t know why. It could be fatigue or injury,” Ashwin said.
He also delivered his prediction for the Mumbai Indians’ performance in IPL 2027. Ashwin said that he wouldn’t be surprised if MI failed to perform in the tournament next year.
“This Mumbai Indians team seemed a bit strange. It cannot be easy. With the quality they have, maybe they can play well next year. But I won’t be surprised if they also find it hard for one more year. It looks like a lot of people are not at their best. I was surprised this year, but I wouldn’t be if they give a middling performance next year,” he added.