Jasprit Bumrah (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: Former India captain, 1983 World Cup winner and former selector Kris Srikanth has praised Jasprit Bumrah for his leadership during Mumbai Indians’ six-wicket win over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala. Bumrah’s maiden outing as Mumbai Indians captain turned into a memorable match as he led the team to an important win in the IPL 2026 season.After being sidelined with a back spasm, Pandya missed for the first time Mumbai Indians’ home match against Lucknow Super Giants on 4 May. He then missed the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Raipur despite traveling with the team. In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav led the team.
Pandya also did not travel to Dharamsala for Mumbai Indians’ six-wicket win over Punjab Kings, with Jasprit Bumrah becoming MI’s third captain of the season after Suryakumar missed the match following the birth of his child.Under Bumrah’s captaincy, Shardul Thakur picked up four wickets, while Deepak Chahar took two as Punjab Kings posted 200/8. Mumbai Indians then chased down the target in 19.5 overs, powered by Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 75 off just 33 balls.“It’s a good call. I think Bumrah coming in as captain is a great move,” Srikanth said on his YouTube channel.He also praised the overall intent and performance shown by the Mumbai Indians players.
“Suriya also did not play in that match. He was not playing the match due to personal reasons, he did not play the match. But whatever it was, the young team came out of the blue as you say. They came and Deepak Chahar is bowling well. Raj’s teammate Angad Bawa is bowling well. Everyone is performing. Tilak Varma gave a great performance. He smashed Ryan Rickleton and dominated the powerful shots early.”“Overall, the will to win and the will to succeed were there. Even though they were in a critical situation, they showed the will to succeed.
This is the key in cricket. “That energy was there,” Srikanth said.Srikanth added that Bumrah’s calm and encouraging presence on the field helped the bowlers perform with confidence.“And if you look at his bowling as well, even Bumrah was constantly smiling. He was giving a lot of confidence to the bowlers. I think Bumrah’s leadership made a big difference to guys like Deepak Chahar. And of course Shardul Thakur, because otherwise, they bowl loose deliveries and leaks. Today, everyone took wickets,” Srikanth said.