India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who had a dismal IPL 2026 season with the Mumbai Indians, has received backing from former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn and former captain AB de Villiers.
Bumrah was rested for MI’s last league encounter against Rajasthan Royals after finishing the competition with just four wickets in 13 games. When he bowled at least 40 overs in a single Twenty20 event, his bowling average of 102.50 was the highest ever.
Steyn stated that Bumrah’s quality and accomplishments are unaffected by the challenging season, notwithstanding the low numbers. He reminded detractors that Bumrah was one of the top bowlers in the competition and had contributed significantly to India’s victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup only a few months ago.
Steyn said that a few of elite batters also had difficulties during the IPL and that Bumrah’s dismal performance simply demonstrated his humanity. He was optimistic that the fast bowler will recover well the following season and perhaps even take home the Purple Cap.
“He won a World Cup just a month and a half, two months ago, and he was probably one of the bowlers of the tournament. So you can’t focus on him primarily. He had a bad tournament (IPL). There have been good batters at this IPL that haven’t hit the ground running. Okay. So it shows that he’s human. He’ll come back strong and next season he’ll probably win the Purple Cap next season,” Steyn said on De Villiers’ YouTube channel.
Although De Villiers acknowledged that IPL 2026 may have been Bumrah’s worst season statistically, he maintained that the Indian pacer is still the world’s top bowler in all formats. He supported Bumrah’s quick comeback, saying that a player’s class cannot be destroyed by a single poor season.
“Bumrah’s worst IPL of his life. I think his average is over 100 this year. I mean, there are lots of reasons for that, and I still think he’s the greatest bowler right now in all formats around the world. So that hasn’t changed. One bad performance doesn’t take the class out of a player. He’ll be back. There’s no doubt about it,” De Villiers said.
Bumrah’s challenging IPL campaign was unexpected considering he entered the competition following a stellar T20 World Cup performance in which he was instrumental in India’s victory.
In an effort to make sure he is fully recovered for a challenging international season later this year, the India bowler has now been rested for the forthcoming home series against Afghanistan.
