After IPL 2026, Mumbai Indians’ trophy drought will stretch to six seasons. | Photo Credit: AP

Season after season, Mumbai Indians enters the Indian Premier League with the sole objective of winning the title. But the wait for another trophy has now stretched far too long.

The five-time champion has gone six years without lifting the IPL trophy, and with another disappointing campaign nearing its end, the franchise has plenty to reflect on.

“We had a couple of good games where we fought well, they were close games. It was good, but it was not good enough. The consistency was not there,” Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said ahead of his team’s final match against Rajasthan Royals.

“We struggled with execution in certain phases of the game, and that has been the story for us. So that is something to reflect on,” the coach said.

“There is a lot to play for, not just the pride. I am sure the fans and everyone would be very disappointed with the season that we had, with the squad we had, the players we had—that is something we have to reflect on and see what we need to do. But there’s everything to play for, because it is not just the pride of the franchise, but the individuals as well,” he said.

Despite having some of the biggest names in world cricket in its ranks, Mumbai Indians struggled throughout the season, and with Suryakumar Yadav running out of form, matters only worsened.

After scoring more than 700 runs last season, expectations were naturally high from India’s T20I captain. However, he managed just 210 runs from 12 innings at an average of 17.50 this year. Jayawardene believes the seasoned campaigner lacked a bit of confidence.

“I think it’s a combination of a bit of confidence. Because he’s a naturally gifted player, the way he plays shots. Sometimes when you do that early, it doesn’t come off. And then the next game, the next game, you’re trying to make (an impact). Game plan-wise, he’s trying to change a few things. But that also did not work for him. Some of the inside edges or he got out a few times, on the first ball. So, when those things happen, it’s just a combination of everything…”

Four members of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad—captain Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar and Tilak Varma—struggled this season. However, Jayawardene did not want to single them out.

“I think it’s not fair just to single out those four guys. As a group, a lot of the guys haven’t been able to consistently perform. That’s how I see it. Yes, they came from a very high level in the T20 World Cup and all that. And then, yes, what you have to understand is that how you play for your national team and how you play for the IPL franchise sometimes differs because the personnel and roles can be different,” he said.

“So, they had to switch it up. And there’s nothing wrong with the effort that they put off the field training-wise and what they needed to do and conversations that we had with them.

“It’s just that they were not able to go out there in the middle and execute. So that is something that happens in a game of cricket. And that’s something that we also need to understand…”

“In the past, we had individual players winning matches by themselves. And we haven’t had that happening this year with the prominent players we had. And that can happen. So that means that collectively the team has to then perform to win some matches.

“And that also did not happen because a lot of the players did not perform to our expectations. We tried some youngsters also, but they also struggled in the heat of the moment. So it’s that sort of a season and that’s something that we have to reflect on,” the head coach said.

Published on May 23, 2026