Rohit Sharma Shreyas Iyer Rishabh Pant KL Rahul Sanjiv Goenka. Image Credits: AFP/AP/LSG
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene took a sharp dig at Punjab Kings, LSG and Delhi Capitals over their trophy-less run. The statement went viral on social media as fans were left divided.
MI, five-time IPL champions, began their IPL 2026 campaign on a winning note. They won their opening fixture against KKR at Wankhede in a high-scoring thriller.
Mumbai Indians head coach takes a dig at PBKS, LSG, and DC
Meanwhile, ahead of MI’s upcoming game against DC, head coach Mahela Jayawardene attended a press conference. When asked about the Mumbai Indians’ trophy-less run in the last five years, the Sri Lankan legend seemed unbothered.
He said while MI haven’t won a title in recent history, they’re still ahead compared to other teams that have not won a single title in the last 18 years.
"I think the results will take care of themselves. Rather than putting ourselves under pressure at the beginning of the season. Saying we haven't won it for 4 years. But some teams haven't won it forever either. So we are not rubbing it in. But with all due respect, we just thought that we would trust our process. And work on ourselves on how we need to go about it,” Jayawardene said.
This was a direct dig at Punjab Kings, LSG and Delhi Capitals, as these are the only three teams without a title in the IPL. RCB, after a prolonged wait, won their maiden title in 2025.
That being said, Jayawardene defended the Mumbai Indians, saying IPL is now a 10-team competition and is much tougher than before. Hence, the focus is on process and not pressure.
“10 teams makes it even harder competition. But I think in the last 5 years, we were in the playoffs 2 or 3 times, if I am not mistaken. So that means we had our opportunities in just that last bit. I don't know how to answer this properly. In a competition like this, you have to take one game at a time and go through the process. As a team, we know that we have done well consistently over a period of time,” he added.
Overall, instead of treating the trophy drought as a failure, Mahela Jayawardene reframed it as a temporary dip and not a crisis.
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The instability inside the Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians last won an IPL title in 2020. Since then, a lot has changed. In 2024, captaincy moved from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya in what turned out to be a controversial decision.
That transition created some instability as rift rumours began circulating. In the last two years, MI struggled, though they reached the playoffs in 2025 only to lose the eliminator contest to the Gujarat Titans.
Regardless, despite the trophy drought, the Mumbai Indians’ squad is stacked with stars like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.
Additionally, they finally won their opening game this season, something they hadn’t done in 13 years.
MI get back Mitchell Santner ahead of the DC game
The big update is that Mitchell Santner has joined the squad in Delhi ahead of the Mumbai Indians’ upcoming match against the Delhi Capitals.
This is important because Santner is a quality all-rounder, adds balance to the playing XI and gives MI another spin and lower-order batting option.
In IPL 2025, Santner took 10 wickets in 13 matches at 7.9 economy. Even in the T20 World Cup 2026, he contributed with both bat and ball.
The Mumbai Indians will play against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday, April 4, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
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