When the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 started, one expected the Mumbai Indians to steamroll the other teams and make their way to the playoffs, considering the sort of squad the five-time champions had. However, reality has been completely different, and the Hardik Pandya-led side finds itself at the number nine spot in the standings. A loss against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday will all but rule the franchise out of playoff contention. One major reason behind Mumbai’s struggles is Suryakumar Yadav’s lacklustre form.
The 35-year-old, who led India to a T20 World Cup title earlier this year, has found the going tough in the IPL 2026 season, with just 162 runs coming from his willow in eight matches, with his highest score being 51 against the Delhi Capitals. This is a major change of fortunes for the batter, who scored more than 700 runs in the previous edition of the IPL. In the 19th edition of the tournament, Surya is averaging just 20.25, and his strike rate is below 150 (140.86).
Ahead of the match against the Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene had his say on Surya’s form, saying the batter is human and is doing everything in his power to strike back to form.
“We’ve had this conversation. Like, if you look at him batting in the middle, there are two things. Practice, he’s batting well as anybody. I’m sure he was like that. And even when you go into the matches as well, he’s hitting the ball well. But the way he’s gotten off a few times, it’s unfortunate,” Jayawardene told reporters in the pre-match press conference on Friday.
Like, you know, he hits a shot, gets caught in the boundary line. A couple of times, okay, he had some good balls, came at his way, got out,” he added.
‘Keep trusting’
The former Sri Lanka captain said that the need of the hour is to let Suryakumar be, as he is experienced enough to make a comeback and figure out what’s going wrong.
“So, batsmen, me being a batsman as well, I’ve gone through those kinds of situations. Like, why is it happening to me? But it does happen. So, the conversations, like, keep trusting. Keep trusting your thought process. Keep trusting your ability. Back yourself in that situation. Because he’s that sort of player. He’s very unorthodox,” said Jayawardene.
“How he sees, how he plays, we keep encouraging him. And sometimes, I mean, if you look at Surya for us, he had three, four brilliant years, not just last year. So, sometimes people are human. They will have a little run that, you know, doesn’t go his way. But he knows that. And he’ll come up with a smile and play the same way he knows how to play,” he added.
The right-handed experienced batter was the third-highest run-scorer for India in the T20 World Cup, but his form witnessed a nosedive after the opening match against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.