Aakash Chopra, a former Indian player, is of the opinion that Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be the key bowler of the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2026 Indian Premier League. He said that MI had option of deploying Corbin Bosch to work overseas as the seamer rather than Trent Boult.
MI experienced the highest wicket taking by Boult in IPL 2025 where he took 22 wickets with an economy of 8.96 in 16 innings. Bosch last season made only one wicket in two innings with an average of 7.85 runs per over as compared to Bumrah who took 18 wickets with an economy rate of 6.67 in 12 innings.
The former Indian batsman, Aakash Chopra, in a video uploaded in his YouTube channel, stated that Bumrah would be influential in the bowling strategies used by Mumbai Indians in the 2026 Indian Premier League. The five time champions, he said, could play Bosch before Boult, owing to the present form of the left-arm seamer.
“Bowling will be slightly more reliant on Bumrah now as well because Bumrah is Bumrah. There is no one like him in the entire world. So one over at the start, one over in the middle, and two overs at the death. Their bowling will revolve around him. Don’t bowl more than one over of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay. Use him wisely,” Chopra said.
“You can keep Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar at the top for swing bowling, although Trent Boult’s recent form is not good. His game has gone down a little. So that will be worth watching, because they will always have the option of leaving him out, as they can play Corbin Bosch. Corbin Bosch is a serious, serious player. I rate him very highly – bowling and batting,” he added.
Aakash Chopra emphasized that Corbin Bosch can provide an odd over with the fresh ball and bowl at the end. If the Afghanistan spinner is part of the playing lineup, he said, the Mumbai Indians can also deploy Allah Ghazanfar with the new ball. Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya are also available as new-ball possibilities.
“No one should stop” – Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians’ potential batting strategy in IPL 2026
Aakash Chopra stated in the same video that the Mumbai Indians should bat hard during their IPL 2026 innings.
“I feel everyone should hit with the bat. No one should stop. Why is there a need to stop when you have so much depth and might in batting? Quinton de Kock should start hitting with Rohit Sharma,” he said.
MI has adequate batting depth for everyone to play freely, the former cricket player turned analyst continued.
“If Suryakumar Yadav comes at No. 3, he should hit. Whether Tilak Varma or Hardik Pandya comes at No. 4, they should hit. If Tilak comes at No. 5, he should hit. After that, Will Jacks and Naman Dhir are there. They should also hit. That should be enough for you to bat deep into the innings,” Chopra observed.
Sherfane Rutherford and Will Jacks are the two foreign lower-middle-order hitters available to the Mumbai Indians. If Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, and Deepak Chahar are included in their lineup, they will have even more hitting depth.
