"He has been leaking runs" - Piyush Chawla analyzes MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah's below-par show in IPL 2022

Indian cricketer Piyush Chawla reckons that Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Jasprit Bumrah seems to be struggling for rhythm and confidence in IPL 2022. He pointed out that though there is a theory floating around about batters trying to play him out safely, he is giving away quite a few runs.

28-year-old Bumrah has claimed only five wickets in nine matches at an average of 51.20 and a strike rate of 41.20. In fact, he has picked up only two scalps in the franchise’s last five matches.

Having broken their eight-match losing streak in IPL 2022 with a victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Mumbai will next face the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. Previewing the game during a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Chawla admitted that Bumrah will need to lift his performance. Analyzing the MI pacer’s form, he said:

“Till now, critics were saying that Bumrah wasn’t getting wickets because the batters were negotiating him safely. But, even if that is the case, he has been leaking runs. Every player goes through a phase where he tries everything but nothing works. He will have to start well against GT and pick wickets. Only then Mumbai’s attack will look balanced.”

Bumrah played his role in Mumbai’s first win of the IPL 2022 season. He was extremely economical with figures of 0 for 27 as MI held RR to 158 for 6 bowling first. The batters then chased down the target with five wickets in hand.

While admitting that Bumrah has had a disappointing season, Chawla agreed that there has been too much pressure on him due to lack of support from the other end. The 33-year-old elaborated:

“Daniel Sams came with a good reputation, but he took time to adjust to Indian wickets. Riley Meredith has impressed a bit but hasn’t played a lot of matches. Earlier, Mumbai had two wicket-taking overseas fast bowlers with Bumrah. They had Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga and even Nathan Coulter-Nile did a good job. This time that sharpness is missing.”

Meredith stood out with figures of 2 for 24 in Mumbai’s win over Rajasthan. Young spinner Kumar Kartikeya also impressed on IPL debut. He gave away only 19 runs while claiming the big wicket of Sanju Samson.

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“Problem with opening persists for MI” - Piyush Chawla

Shifting attention to Mumbai’s batting, Chawla conceded that the opening partnership remains a big concern for the franchise but asserted that the middle order has been doing a fine job. The leg-spinner commented:

“The problem with opening persists for MI but the middle order has been doing well. Tilak Varma has performed right through the tournament while Suryakumar Yadav has looked in excellent rhythm. Tim David came in and played a good cameo. So, there have been some good performances.”

Chasing 159 against Rajasthan, Mumbai lost Rohit Sharma for 2 and Ishan Kishan for 26. However, Suryakumar (51), Varma (35) and David (20*) lifted the franchise to their first win of the season.