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MI last won the IPL in 2020. (Sportzpics)
The Mumbai Indians coaching staff’s actions in the latter stages of the Punjab Kings’ extraordinary chase in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier 2 worked against the five-time champions, former spinner Harbhajan Singh has said. MI lost the match by five wickets and thus missed out on a shot at a record sixth title with PBKS chasing down a target of 204 with an over to spare.
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer has been lauded for the composed manner in which he powered the chase. Iyer scored an unbeaten 87 in 41 balls. Harbhajan said that this composure seemed to be missing among the MI coaching staff, with head coach Mahela Jayawardene seen to be gesturing from the sidelines and talking to Jasprit Bumrah in the latter stages of the chase. “Look at the Mumbai Indians dugout. When they were leaking runs, there was too much involvement from the outside,” Harbhajan, who won three IPL titles with MI, said on his Youtube channel.
“The coaches are telling a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah what to do and what not. A dressing room needs to remain calm and composed. Coaches should only give advice. Don’t show desperation. So somewhere I felt that when this happens way too much, it breaks the player’s spirit,” said Harbhajan.
MI are the most successful team in the history of the IPL along side Chennai Super Kings. However, they haven’t won the tournament since 2020 and in the years since, this was only the second time that they made it past the league stage. All of MI’s titles were won under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who was replaced by Hardik Pandya in the position before the 2024 season.
“Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, they are all big players. And when they are playing, let them do what they need to do to get the right result for the team. They have won many trophies together. They needed to be shown a lot more faith, but the coaching staff time and again was interfering and gesturing with their hands,” added Harbhajan.
English (US) ·