Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 3 (ANI): Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle expresses surprise at how a star-studded Mumbai Indians (MI) side collapsed and is struggling to make it to the playoffs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, something nobody could have predicted.

Bhogle felt most players, except Jasprit Bumrah in the MI squad, weren't in top form during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup earlier this year and in modern T20 cricket, big reputations can sometimes create pressure rather than performance.

Bhogle also believed that leadership under Hardik Pandya hasn't delivered consistent success over three years.

'I must confess I didn't see a team, as studded with stars as #MumbaiIndians is, come apart like this. The only possible indicator could have been that, Bumrah apart, the others hadn't had an outstanding T20WC. But nobody could have predicted this. I had thought aloud about a hypothesis on my YouTube channel that reputation is becoming a burden in modern T20 cricket as a possible reason. I don't know if all the forces within were aligned, but that could be another. And the experiment with Hardik Pandya as captain is now 3 years old, and it has delivered a play-off only once, so maybe something isn't working there. But I bet nobody saw #MI not making the play-offs,' Bhogle wrote in an X post.

https://x.com/bhogleharsha/status/2050804269746683910?s=20

The Mumbai Indians are in serious trouble, edging closer to an early exit from the Indian Premier League 2026 season.

On Saturday, MI slumped to an eight-wicket defeat against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The loss left MI languishing in ninth place on the table with just four points and a net run rate of -0.803, having secured only two wins from nine matches.

With five matches left this season for MI, they need to win all their remaining fixtures if they have to create a chance to make it in the playoffs.

Mumbai Indians Squad: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Robin Minz, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Krish Bhagat, Raj Bawa, Rohit Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Quinton de Kock, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (ANI)