Team India and Mumbai Indians spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to feature in the IPL 2025 season anytime soon. The pacer is still recovering from the back injury which even kept him out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign that India won under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
Five-time IPL champions MI will begin their IPL 2025 campaign with the ‘El Clasico’ clash of the T20 league against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on Sunday (March 23). MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene did not specify a timeline for Bumrah’s return to competitive cricket, acknowledging that the pacer’s absence will be a significant ‘challenge’ for the team in IPL 2025.
Bumrah is set to miss the initial games of the tournament as he continues to recover from a back injury at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. “Jasprit Bumrah is at the NCA, and we have to wait for their feedback. So far, his recovery is progressing well, and it’s being monitored on a day-to-day basis,” Jayawardene said during MI’s pre-season press conference on Wednesday.
“He is in good spirits, but not having him is definitely a challenge. He is the best bowler in the world,” he added.
Bumrah has been sidelined since the final Test against Australia in Sydney in early January, where he was unable to bowl in the second innings as Australia chased down 162 to secure a 3-1 series win. While his return remains uncertain, MI skipper Hardik Pandya emphasized that having an experienced player like Bumrah around the team will still be beneficial.
Bumrah is expected to join his Mumbai Indians teammates in the first week of April and may continue his rehabilitation with the squad. “I’m fortunate to have three captains playing alongside me—Rohit, Surya, and Bumrah. They always support me and are there whenever I need guidance,” Pandya said.
Mumbai Indians have retained their core of players, and showed a pretty clear sign of going after experience in the Auction. Jayawardene threw light on the strategy.
“We pride on our core group. That’s been the reason for our success for many years. It’s not easy to win an IPL trophy. Mumbai Indians has been successful in delivering that. Each year, the challenge is for us to set ourselves up for that. We have added more experience this year to the core group. That was something planned that we wanted to achieve. We have seven guys in our main squad who’ve won IPL trophies with different franchises as well. As a coach, I am trying to get that structure in place and get the best out of them,” the former Sri Lanka captain said.
Mumbai Indians play two games on the road, against Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, before coming home to the Wankhede Stadium to play their first home game, against the Kolkata Knight Riders on March 31.
