Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene believes the franchise’s struggles in IPL 2026 are driven by the group rather than any single player. Under Hardik Pandya’s leadership, MI suffered their fourth consecutive defeat of the season on Thursday, losing to Punjab Kings by seven wickets. The loss came after a bright start for the five-time champions, who began their campaign with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders, before going down to Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and now Punjab Kings.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Jayawardene placed the responsibility for the current dip in form across the entire setup. He said the coaching staff and the management, including himself, must take ownership for the results and focus on how to get the team back to its best. “When we are not doing well, it’s on every one of us. It’s not an individual. It’s pretty much on me, everyone who is involved in the management and all that, to see how we can be better,” he said.
The Sri Lanka great also acknowledged that MI have shown moments of good cricket, but argued that opponents have been sharper and more assured in the crucial phases. In his view, the team needs to tighten up in key stretches of the match and respond collectively as a franchise and management group to rebuild momentum, regain confidence, and start collecting wins again. “I know we are playing good cricket. We are not being taken out completely, but at the same time the other teams are much better and more clinical. Obviously, the confidence is high as well when they have that kind of start, so we just need to control the phases that we can control. I think it’s not just on one individual. As a franchise, as a team management group, 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,” Jayawardene added.
Jayawardene also provided an update on Rohit Sharma, who missed the PBKS match after picking up a hamstring problem during the RCB encounter earlier in the campaign. He said Rohit has begun running and is being assessed on a daily basis. The coach stressed the issue is not considered serious, but MI will not rush his return since the season is still at an early stage. “He started running yesterday; we’ll take it 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 him as it’s still early in the season,” Jayawardene said.
Punjab Kings, meanwhile, extended their strong run in IPL 2026 with a dominant seven-wicket success over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. The win propelled PBKS to the top of the points table, where they moved ahead with four victories and one no-result, surpassing defending champions RCB in the process. MI, in contrast, slipped to ninth place after managing only one win from their first five matches.
MI set the tone with the bat, posting 195/6. Quinton de Kock struck a commanding 112 not out off 60 balls, and he combined with Naman Dhir for a pivotal 122-run partnership. Dhir added momentum with a quickfire 50, helping Mumbai reach a competitive total. For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh was the standout, finishing with figures of 3/22.
Chasing 196, Punjab Kings reached the target with ease in 16.3 overs, finishing on 198/3. Prabhsimran Singh led the charge, remaining unbeaten on 80 off 39 deliveries, while captain Shreyas Iyer played a composed innings of 66 off 35 balls. The two built a crucial stand after early setbacks, turning the chase firmly in PBKS’s favour. For MI, Allah Ghazanfar claimed 2/32, but overall the bowling effort struggled to apply pressure, as Punjab Kings controlled the run-chase from there.
