Mumbai Indians have lost four of their five matches in the ongoing IPL season.
Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a seven-wicket thrashing in their IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (April 16).
After the loss, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene offered an update on Rohit Sharma, who missed the game due to a right hamstring injury. The veteran opener had sustained the injury during the run chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 12.
Although Rohit participated in a training session on the eve of the PBKS clash, the MI management decided against risking him after assessing his fitness, with reports suggesting he could be out for a few more games.
Addressing the situation in the post-match presser, Jayawardene said: "He (Rohit) started running yesterday, [we'll take] day to day to see how he feels. He knows his body better than anybody else so it's nothing serious but at the same time we don't want to push and it's early season still."
Despite setting a strong 196-run target, MI failed to defend as PBKS chased it down in 16.3 overs. It was their fourth defeat in five matches this season, and the five-time champions are currently languishing at ninth spot in the team standings.
Jayawardene took collective responsibility for the team's struggles, stating it was "not just on one individual" but on management and players to improve.
"I think it's on every one of us when we are not doing well. It's not an individual. It's pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that to see how can we be better," the MI coach stated.
"I know we are playing good cricket. We are not taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better, clinical; obviously the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start so we just need to control phases that we can control. So I think it's not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management, we need to do things better to get into some rhythm and then get a few wins under our belt that will give us that confidence," he added.
MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is enduring a career-worst form in IPL 2026, going five matches without a wicket while conceding 123 runs across these games, including a 0/41 performance against PBKS.
Despite the struggles, Jayawardene threw his weight behind the ace pacer. “Bumrah is bowling well, it is just where we are not putting pressure in the powerplay,” the coach told reporters. “They (opposition) know they don't need to take too much risk against Bumrah. We tried a few different things which he is trying as well but they are batting well. I can't put a finger (on something) and say that he hasn't taken a wicket."
Jayawardene revealed that Bumrah carried a slight niggle from the T20 World Cup 2026, which hampered his speed early on, but the team is pleased with his progress over the last few games.
“I think initially because he had a slight niggle which came from the World Cup,” he said while addressing Bumrah’s fluctuating pace.
“We wanted to build him up (and) over the last few games his speeds have gone up. We've looked at all that so he's very comfortable. Sometimes, you need a bit of luck as well.
“(Bumrah) bowled some really good balls initially to Shreyas (Iyer) but wasn't lucky enough. Once he starts taking wickets he might not be able to stop him doing that,” Jayawardene added.
However, the Jayawardene acknowledged that MI’s bowling unit has lacked bite this season. "But as a (bowling) unit, like I said before, we've lacked that penetration in different surfaces and that's something that we need to work (on) and see what we need to do,” he remarked.