Nothing is going right for Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The speedster who could do no wrong a couple of months back is looking a pale shadow of his old self for the Mumbai Indians in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament, and the wickets are hard to come by for the ace speedster. Apart from the lack of wickets, another thing is bogging down Bumrah, and that’s the number of no-balls he has dished out in the IPL 2026 season.
The 32-year-old has bowled a total of eight no-balls in the IPL 2026 edition, and three of these came on Monday night against the Lucknow Super Giants. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was a part of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, was not pleased when Bumrah dished out two no-balls in the 14th over of Lucknow’s innings, and he made his feelings known to the world.
Gavaskar tore into the pacer, saying that bowling no-balls in T20 cricket is unacceptable and there should be better professionalism on show. It is also worth noting that Bumrah had dismissed Himmat Singh on the third delivery of the 14th over, but the ball turned out to be a no-ball, and the batter eventually went on to score 40 runs to take Lucknow’s total past the 220-run mark.
“Do not tell me again. Do not tell me. Do not tell me that Bumrah has bowled a no-ball. That is not acceptable. That is not acceptable. You are a professional cricketer; it is not acceptable. Wides, yes, I understand, but no balls, no,” said Gavaskar on air.
When Bumrah bowled consecutive no-balls in the 14th over, the cameras panned to Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene and bowling coach Lasith Malinga, both of whom painted a sorry picture, seemingly at a loss for words.
When the cameras panned to Malinga, Gavaskar said, “Yes, bowling coach. This is a big one.”
No wicket for Bumrah
In the match against Lucknow Super Giants, Bumrah went wicketless, conceding 45 runs in his quota of four overs. In the IPL 2026 season, the pacer has taken just 3 wickets in 10 matches. This is one of the worst seasons ever for the pacer in the IPL.
“Kind of summarises the season as well,” said Deep Dasgupta when Bumrah bowled back-to-back no-balls.
Speaking of the match between Mumbai and Lucknow, the former won the toss and opted to bowl first. Lucknow then posted 228/5 in 20 overs, owing to quality knocks by Nicholas Pooran (63), Mitchell Marsh (44), Himmat Singh (40) and Aiden Markram (31*).
Mumbai Indians then chased the total down with six wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare as Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton played knocks of 84 and 83 respectively.
