Mumbai Indians' Jasprit Bumrah bowls during a practice session ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at the Wankhede Stadium. (PTI Photo)More than three months since he walked off the Sydney Cricket Ground in the middle of a decisive Test, after one of the most memorable series for a fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah is all set to return to action after being declared fit by the Board of Control of Cricket in India’s medical team.
Bumrah will join the Mumbai Indians squad for the ongoing Indian Premier League season after recovering from the back injury suffered during an almost single-handed bowling effort during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. When Bumrah exited the stage in the fifth Test, he took away any chance of India retaining the trophy it had held for a decade.
Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene informed that Bumrah is fit and expected to play against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
“Yeah, he is available. He is training today, so he should be available tomorrow,” Jayawardene said on the eve of the game.
“He arrived last night and I believe he had his sessions with NCA (National Cricket Academy, now called Centre of Excellence) to finalise that. He has been handed over to our physios. So, yeah, he is bowling today, all (is) good and he will play tomorrow (Monday).”
Bumrah bowled to Rohit Sharma in the nets. The India Test and ODI captain had missed Mumbai Indians’ last game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday after getting hit on the leg. Jaywardene indicated that Rohit looked in good rhythm.
Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah during a practice session ahead of an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at the Wankhede Stadium. (PTI Photo)
“Ro (Rohit) looks good. He is going to bat today. It was just an unfortunate impact on his leg while batting so, it was not comfortable. We were travelling yesterday. He will have a hit today and then we will do an assessment on that,” the head coach said before the team’s training session.
Bumrah’s comeback will be a big boost to Mumbai Indians who have won only one game out of four so far. Since suffering from a swollen back due to a heavy bowling workload Down Under, Bumrah missed India’s limited-overs series at home against England as well as the triumphant Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai in February-March.
In addition to leading the bowling attack, taking 32 wickets in an unprecedented performance by an Indian fast bowler and earning the Player of the Series honour, Bumrah also had to lead the team in two out of the five Tests. Rohit missed the first Test to be at home for the birth of his child, and stood himself down for the final game due to poor form.
Bumrah has had a history of back issues. He missed nearly 11 months of cricket — from September 2022 to August 2023 — after undergoing a surgery. He made a comeback in a T20 International against Ireland.
Bumrah’s return seems to have already raised the profile of the MI-RCB game, which is always a big fixture anyway.
RCB’s Australian batter Tim David said that Bumrah’s return is great for the IPL but hoped that one of the visiting batsmen could take the stalwart head on to make a statement.
“Booms is pretty widely recognised as the best bowler going around. That is the challenge we want to have at RCB. If we are going to go deep into the tournament, we need to beat the best teams, we need to beat the best players. Hopefully, Boom bowls the first over tomorrow night and the first ball goes for four or six. That would be a statement. It would be great to have him back playing in the tournament because the game is better with him in it.”
RCB started the tournament in great style, winning two games on the road before losing their first home game of the season against Gujarat Titans.
In a rare occurrence in elite cricket, the Mumbai Indians think tank decided to retire Tilak Varma in the final stages of their chase against LSG when the left-hander was struggling to keep up with the required run rate.
Jayawardene played down the issue on Sunday.
“I know it’s a taboo created by everyone. In the modern age, it’s more tactical, and we will keep changing batting line-ups to match up certain bowling line-ups,” the Sri Lankan said. “As a batter, I have had times when you go to bat, and you struggle to get through. He batted very well for us in the last three games in tough situations and built important partnerships. That’s the role with his experience that he brings to the game and I still value that. He was trying and couldn’t get going in Lucknow. It was my decision, to throw someone else to get those two hits. (Mitchell) Santner had done that in the last few games and was in good form. ‘Tomorrow, he (Varma) will walk in and win us the game,” Jayawardene predicted.
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