IPL 2026: Insipid Mumbai Indians risk having worst-ever season

Mumbai Indians (MI) have once again got off to a forgettable beginning to their Indian Premier League campaign, having lost three out of their first four fixtures. The Hardik Pandya-led side had a rare good start in the ongoing edition, winning their opening game for the first time since 2012. However, they failed to build on their winning streak and ended up losing a hat-trick of matches.

A lot has gone wrong for MI in the ongoing season, with no aspect of their game giving any hope. The five-time champions look scattered with nothing binding them into a unified whole, leading to their downfall on the ground time and again.

Despite boasting one of the strongest batting line-ups in the tournament, MI batters have let them down time and again, both with their poor starts and inability to exert pressure on the opponents throughout the innings.

Youth failing to repay trust

No batter from the team has shown any consistency, with none scoring more than one half-century. MI’s batting was exposed against Delhi Capitals, where they were restricted to 162/6 in 20 overs and lost by six wickets. They later failed to give any challenge to Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the massive run chases. 

Youngsters like Tilak Varma (35 runs from four innings) and Naman Dhir (59 runs from four innings) have also failed to repay the management’s trust, not living up to their heavy prices.

No Bumrah Magic

As far as the bowling is concerned, the pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has looked out of sorts, as he’s yet to pick up a single wicket this season. Shardul Thakur is the leading wicket-taker with five wickets from four innings, but is leaking runs at an economy of 13.45.

Senior paceman Trent Boult has also failed to prove his worth, with just one wicket to his name, having an economy of 12.22. Moreover, there's no support in the spin department as well, which has been overly expensive. AM Ghazanfar and Mayank Markande have economies of 12 and 15, respectively, while Mitchell Santner is also lacking his usual spark.

Captain Pandya under pressure?

Captain Hardik Pandya also hasn’t looked good either with bat or ball, and seems to be struggling with his leadership duties. MI are still struggling to find an ideal playing combination, while some of Pandya’s decisions at the toss have also backfired, such as chasing against both RR and RCB.

All in all, Mumbai are clearly lacking the vigour of their old days and their campaign seems to be going downhill, unless they make their usual late comebacks. If the five-time champions fail to find any impetus to revive their campaign, they will replicate their worst-ever seasons from the past.

Here's a look at the Mumbai Indians' season-wise performances, including the highs of podium finishes as well as the abominable endings with a wooden spoon:

Mumbai Indians' IPL Performance (2008–2025)