They will always have the option of leaving him out

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that the Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling will likely revolve around Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2026. He noted that MI have the option of leaving out Trent Boult and playing Corbin Bosch as the overseas seamer.

With 22 scalps at an economy rate of 8.96 in 16 innings, Boult was MI’s highest wicket-taker in IPL 2025. While Bumrah picked up 18 wickets at an economy rate of 6.67 in 12 innings last season, Bosch accounted for a solitary dismissal in two innings while conceding an average of 7.85 runs per over.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter reckoned that Bumrah would be the central figure in the Mumbai Indians‘ bowling strategies in IPL 2026, pointing out that the five-time champions can play Bosch ahead of Boult, considering the left-arm seamer’s recent form.

“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 highlighted that Corbin Bosch can bowl at the death and can also give an odd over with the new ball. He added that the Mumbai Indians can also use Allah Ghazanfar with the new ball, if the Afghanistan spinner is included in the playing combination, with Deepak Chahar and Hardik Pandya available as new-ball options in any case.

“No one should stop” – Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians’ potential batting strategy in IPL 2026

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Mumbai Indians should bat aggressively throughout their innings in IPL 2026.

“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.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that MI have enough batting depth for everyone to play fearlessly.

“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.

The Mumbai Indians can choose between Will Jacks and Sherfane Rutherford as an overseas lower-middle-order batter. They will have even greater batting depth if Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch and Deepak Chahar are part of their playing combination.

Edited by Kartik Iyer