Mahela Jayawardene has stepped down as Mumbai Indians head coach ahead of IPL 2027. Across eight seasons in charge, MI won 64 of 121 matches and three titles. This analysis breaks down the season-by-season numbers behind his tenure.
Overall Record Under Jayawardene
Jayawardene took over as head coach in 2017 and became the most successful head coach in Mumbai Indians' history. He won IPL titles in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
His tenure spanned two stints: 2017 to 2021 and a return in 2025, after a spell in a broader global role from 2022. The stint ended after MI's ninth-place finish in 2026.
Career summary as MI head coach| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Matches | 121 |
| Wins | 64 |
| Losses | 57 |
| Win percentage | 52.90% |
| IPL titles | 3 (2017, 2019, 2020) |
| Editions as head coach | 8 |
A win rate just above 52% looks modest on its own. The split between title seasons and other seasons shows how uneven the tenure was.
Season-by-Season Breakdown
The table below lists MI's results in each season Jayawardene served as head coach, based on the figures reported for each campaign.
Mumbai Indians season-by-season record| Season | Matches | Wins | Losses | Win % | Outcome |
|---|
| 2017 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 70.6% | Champions |
| 2018 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 42.9% | Missed playoffs |
| 2019 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 68.8% | Champions |
| 2020 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 68.8% | Champions |
| 2021 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 50.0% | Fifth, missed playoffs |
| 2022 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 28.6% | Last |
| 2025 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 56.3% | Lost Qualifier 2 |
| 2026 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 28.6% | Ninth |
The Title Seasons: 2017, 2019 and 2020
MI won 35 of 49 matches across the three title-winning seasons, a win rate of 71.4%. In 2017 they topped the league stage and beat Rising Pune Supergiant in the final.
The 2019 title came with a one-run final win over Chennai Super Kings. MI beat CSK in all four meetings that year. In 2020, MI became the first team to win five IPL titles, and Rohit Sharma became the first captain to win five.
The Weaker Campaigns
The five non-title seasons produced 29 wins in 72 matches, a win rate of 40.3%. The gap of roughly 31 percentage points against the title seasons is the defining feature of the record.
2018 and 2021: Missed Playoffs
In 2018, MI lost five of their first six matches during a title defence and finished with six wins and eight losses. In 2021, they finished fifth on seven wins and seven losses.
The 2021 season was split by the COVID-19 disruption. MI won four and lost three before the break, then won three and lost four after the resumption in the UAE.
2022: The Low Point
MI finished last in 2022 with four wins and 10 losses. They lost their first eight matches, the longest losing streak by a team in a single IPL season.
Jayawardene then moved into a broader role overseeing MI's global cricket operations. Mark Boucher was head coach for IPL 2023 and IPL 2024.
Second Stint: 2025 and 2026
Jayawardene returned as head coach in 2025 after serving as Global Head of Performance. Under Hardik Pandya, MI won nine and lost seven of 16 matches and finished fourth in the league stage.
They beat Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator before losing to Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2. It was a clear improvement on 2022 but short of the first-stint standard.
First stint versus second stint| Period | Matches | Wins | Win % |
|---|
| 2017 to 2021 | 77 | 47 | 61.0% |
| 2022 | 14 | 4 | 28.6% |
| 2025 to 2026 | 30 | 13 | 43.3% |
2026 and the Exit
MI recorded four wins and 10 losses in 14 matches in 2026 and finished ninth. It matched 2022 for the lowest win total of Jayawardene's tenure.
The 2022 and 2026 seasons together produced eight wins in 28 matches, a win rate of 28.6%. Both ended a coaching stint.
What Comes Next
Mumbai Indians have gone six seasons without a title since 2020. Reports from ESPNcricinfo and The Hindu state that Kieron Pollard has been appointed head coach, replacing Jayawardene.
Pollard was part of the squad in each of MI's five title-winning seasons: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Jayawardene leaves with three titles, a 52.90% win rate and a record defined by sharp swings between peak and trough seasons.