IPL 2026: Faf du Plessis explains impact of India's T20 World Cup win on MI's slump
IPL 2026: Faf du Plessis hinted that Mumbai Indians' poor start to the Indian Premier League 2026 season may be linked to a dip in hunger among Indian players following their T20 World Cup triumph. He noted that several World Cup-winning players, including Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, have struggled for form, reflecting a wider trend across the tournament.
Mumbai Indians have had a very horrid start to yet another Indian Premier League season, which former South African captain Faf du Plessis believes could be an aftereffect of India’s recent T20 World Cup triumph. While sharing his opinion on why MI are struggling to get going in the ongoing IPL season despite having star names in their ranks, he indirectly hinted that after a World Cup win, the hunger to sustain form is hard to maintain.
MI are currently in last position on the table with a solitary win from five games. Their current side contains four players — Hardik Pandya (captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Jasprit Bumrah — from the Indian side that defended their T20 World Cup title in Ahmedabad on March 8.
“You look right through the IPL and there are quite a lot of Indian players from the T20 World Cup who are not having amazing campaigns,” du Plessis said on ESPNcricinfo while discussing Mumbai Indians’ struggles this season.
Captain Pandya, who is a key finisher for the franchise, has only managed 81 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 158.82. Middle-order batters Suryakumar and Tilak have managed only 106 runs and 43 runs, respectively. Meanwhile, one of the country’s greatest bowlers, Bumrah, is yet to take a wicket in the five innings he has played.
“So, it shows you there’s a level. When a team has done such great things and had such success, how do you make sure your desire and your hunger remain as strong? Because we’re not machines, right? We’re human beings. So how do you maximise your intensity, your hunger to do well every game?” he added.
Du Plessis believes MI are not the only side facing such problems; title-winning players across the tournament, playing for different franchises, have also struggled to get going.
“And not that that’s the reason, but it’s interesting that quite a few of the international Indian players haven’t been red-hot through this IPL. It’s the guys under them who have been the talk of the town.”
Mumbai Indians travel to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad tonight to face a resurgent Gujarat Titans led by captain Shubman Gill, who has been in sensational form and is chasing the Orange Cap. The opener was left out at the last minute from the Indian title-winning side.
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