Mahela Jayawardene, head coach of Mumbai Indians (MI), stated that not having Jasprit Bumrah for the initial matches of IPL 2025 presents a significant challenge. He hopes Bumrah will be able to rejoin the team soon. Jayawardene mentioned during a press interaction in Mumbai on Wednesday that the fast bowler is in good spirits while recovering at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Jayawardene commented on Bumrah’s progress, saying, “Bumrah has just begun his recovery. We need to await feedback from the BCCI medical team regarding his condition. Currently, his progress is positive, but it’s being monitored daily. He remains optimistic. His absence is undoubtedly a hurdle, as he is a world-class bowler and a key player for our team for many years.”
He further added, “We will need to wait and see or provide an opportunity for another player to rise to the occasion. This situation allows us to experiment and evaluate different strategies early in the season.”
Jasprit Bumrah has been an integral part of MI since 2013, having taken 165 wickets in 133 games. The only IPL season he missed was in 2023 due to a back injury.
The MI squad includes other fast bowlers like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Reece Topley, and Corbin Bosch, along with all-rounder captain Hardik Pandya, and uncapped players Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, and Raj Angad Bawa. Bumrah’s absence may require a change in MI’s bowling strategy, especially considering Boult and Chahar’s specialization in powerplay bowling, which could leave a gap in death bowling experience.
As reported earlier, Bumrah is still recovering from a stress-related back injury sustained in January and is expected to join the MI team in early April.
He sustained the injury during the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney on January 4. Consequently, Bumrah was also unable to participate in the Champions Trophy. This is Bumrah’s first back injury setback since his surgery in March 2023.
When announcing the Champions Trophy team in January, Ajit Agarkar, India’s chief selector, mentioned that the BCCI medical team had advised Bumrah to rest for at least five weeks following the SCG Test. Despite this, Bumrah was initially included in India’s provisional squad for the Champions Trophy, which began on February 19. He underwent further scans in Bengaluru in early February but continued to experience discomfort and was ultimately excluded from the final squad.
MI’s first two IPL 2025 games are away matches. They will commence their season against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on March 23, followed by a match against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on March 29. Their first home game is on March 31 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In the first week of April, they are scheduled to play two more matches: against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on April 4 and against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home on April 7.
