Harbhajan Singh has accused the Mumbai Indians (MI) coaching staff, including Lasith Malinga and Mahela Jayawardena, of breaking the spirit of MI players. This came after MI lost to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2025 on June 1 in Ahmedabad and crashed out of the tournament.
Malinga and Jayawardena were seen heavily involved in directing the MI players on the ground. Jayawardena was even seen animatedly telling someone to do something, and this left Jasprit Bumrah amused, and he looked towards Rohit Sharma as well.
Among the many factors that contributed to MI’s loss was one that Harbhajan Singh believes seriously hurt their chances. As MI attempted to dominate the innings against PBKS, the former India spinner objected to the head coach Jayawardene and bowling coach Malinga's overzealous directives.
"Look at the Mumbai Indians dugout. When they were leaking runs, there was way too much involvement from the outside. Coaches are telling a bowler like Bumrah what to do and what not. A dressing room needs to remain calm and composed. Coaches should only give advice. Don’t show desperation. So somewhere I felt that when this happens way too much, it breaks their spirit," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
During the Eliminator match, Jayawardena was trying to convey something to Jasprit Bumrah in animated fashion, until the pacer asked the coach to cool down.
Jayawardena was reminded by Harbhajan that these are successful players who have won the IPL multiple times, and that sometimes it might be better to just sit in the dugout and carry out your ideas rather than listening to the players all the time.
"Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, these are big players. And when they are playing, let them do what they need to do to get the right result for the team. They have won many trophies together. They needed to be shown a lot more faith, but the coaching staff time and again was interfering and gesturing with their hands," added Harbhajan.
MI had a grand comeback in IPL 2025, where they recovered from losing five out of their first six matches. They qualified for the Eliminator as they won six consecutive matches and kept their hopes of a 6th IPL title alive. However, it all ended in a 5-wicket defeat to PBKS in the Qualifier 2.
