IPL 2026 | 'This is just a phase...': Zaheer Khan on Jasprit Bumrah's lean run

Zaheer Khan at the EUT20 Belgium event. Pic/Atul Kamble

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has thrown his weight behind MI's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is yet to put in an impressive performance at IPL-19.

Bumrah, who has claimed 185 scalps in 152 IPL games, has managed just two wickets in seven games (not including Wednesday's tie vs SRH) so far this season.

Zaheer believes "it's just a phase" that Bumrah is going through. "As a bowler, you can go through these phases, so I think that's just the kind of season he [Bumrah] is having. It doesn't make you a bigger or a smaller bowler. This is just a phase and he is aware of it," Zaheer, 47, told reporters on the sidelines of the jersey launch of EUT20 Belgium, at a city hotel on Wednesday.

The former left-arm speedster insisted that Bumrah will "turn things around" in the remaining matches. "There are still seven games to go… so still plenty of time for him to turn things around. We have all seen his capabilities," added Zaheer, who has played 92 Tests, 200 ODIs and 17 T20Is for the country, picking 311, 282 and 17 wickets respectively.