Did MI Drop Jasprit Bumrah Against RR After Poor IPL Campaign?

Match 69 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, featuring the Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. This fixture is a very important one, not for the home team but for the visiting team as well as two other teams who are relying on this match for the Playoffs qualification.

The campaign for the five-time champions, the Mumbai Indians, did not go well as the team failed to deliver exceptional performances on the field, where the poor outcome of Jasprit Bumrah bowling in IPL 2026 was also seen, who is a standout bowler of the side. However, in the last league match, MI vs RR, Jasprit Bumrah is not included in the Playing XI, which created curiosity about what is the reason behind this move.

Is Jasprit Bumrah Dropped vs RR?

As the toss between MI and RR happened, MI skipper Hardik Pandya won and elected to bowl first. He announced the Playing XI for the match, where Jasprit Bumrah was missing, as he announced that “Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) is resting.” This cleared all doubts for everyone that if Jasprit Bumrah dropped vs RR because of his poor bowling performance, but he was rested for this game after playing all other league matches for the Mumbai Indians.

How Was Jasprit Bumrah Bowling in IPL 2026?

Jasprit Bumrah, one of the best bowlers in IPL, had one of the toughest seasons of his career in the Indian Premier League 2026. He managed to take only 4 wickets in 13 matches, which is far below his usual standards. This was surprising because he had just come from an excellent ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign, where he was even named Player of the Match in the final.

During the IPL season, Bumrah struggled to pick up wickets and even his longest wicketless run, failing to take a single wicket in his first five matches. Although his economy rate at the death overs was still better than many bowlers, batters chose to play him carefully instead of attacking. Overall, it was an unusual and disappointing season for Bumrah, with figures of 13 matches, 4 wickets, an economy of 8.36, and a bowling average of 102.50, with his best performance being 1/15 against the Gujarat Titans.