Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has blamed three Mumbai Indians bowlers as the reason the five-time champions have had a torrid Indian Premier League 2026 season. Pollock laid the blame for Mumbai’s form on the steps of Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, saying that the trio and their poor bowling numbers have let the team down.
Mumbai are currently ninth on the points table. They’ve lost five out of their seven matches despite a team composition that many believed would do exceedingly well at the IPL.
Pollock took aim at Mumbai’s bowling unit and said, “They’ve been let down by their three key bowling options – Boult, Thakur, and Chahar. They would have considered them bankers pre-season. The 11 they are playing now is very far from the one they would have picked right after the auction. That’s probably been the biggest surprise.”
The former South African skipper also spoke about the abundance of options that Mumbai possessed and how that might be an issue when it comes to team selections.
“It feels like they have too many options. And it’s been the case the last four or five years. If they make the playoffs, they can kick into gear with all the international and playoff experience. But for that to happen, they have to win this match first. The complication comes in for them because of the strength they have. It’s why Rickleton hasn’t played after de Kock scored that hundred.”
Mumbai face Sunrisers Hyderabad today in a crunch clash that could decide whether they make it to the IPL playoffs or not. Hyderabad, currently fourth on the IPL table, are also trying to make it to the playoffs and possess a crack batting top order and an Abhishek Sharma who is ripe to take on Mumbai’s out-of-form bowling options.
