CAN HE BOOM: Jasprit Bumrah returns to Mumbai Indians camp, can fire again after a long injury break?

Jasprit Bumrah has returned from a three-month long injury break, done rehab and joined the Mumbai Indians camp. At a time when the performance of MI has been lacklustre in IPL 2025, the return of Bumrah is like oxygen. However, there is still no clarity when he will play a competitive match. The grapevine says, after his long stay at the Centre for Excellence in Bengaluru, Bumrah has been given a clean chit.

What had happened to Bumrah’s back, exactly, nobody knows. On January 4, 2025 when he got injured and went for MRI scans at the Sydney Cricket Ground, news conveyed was that of a ‘back spasm.’ However, there was just no further clarity on the nature of his back injury, whether it was a spasm or a disc flareup, which had resulted in him undergoing a surgery in 2023. As the spearhead of the Indian attack during the BGT Series in Australia in December 2024/January 2025, in a long five-Test series, Bumrah was sensational, taking 32 wickets. It was not just TV commentators and experts in India and Australia who went gaga over Bumrah and his fiery spells. The world sang praise and said he is the most devastating fast bowler. Fact is, Bumrah had been over-bowled, something which was never acknowledged by the think-tank, skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir included.

On return to India, the suspense on Bumrah’s back injury increased. No mention of the MRI scan reports was made, though some felt he would make it to the Indian team for the Champions Trophy in Dubai. Not only did Bumrah play a single match in it, none spoke a word on it, chairman of selection committee Ajit Agarkar included. On return from the Champions Trophy, celebrations for Team Indian were muted. With the IPL 2025 now in the third week, Mumbai Indians have not performed well at all. The leadership of Hardik Pandya and the results achieved till now have been poor.

So, the obvious question is if Bumrah can change the fortunes of the MI team. He has played a ‘simulation match’ but how soon they will throw him into the deep end of the pool is unclear. Fast bowlers across teams have made an impact in the IPL this year. Bumrah would be keen to test his own back and bowl intimidating stuff with the white ball. What is more important, how his workload will be managed. When overseas fast bowlers compete in the IPL, their respective cricket boards ask for constant feedback on workload. It includes details of how much a bowler is at work in nets and also the matches played.

Surely, a similar kind of protocol must be followed for Jasprit Bumrah as well. There are two aspects to his return, he would have undergone intense rehab after rest and then started bowling. The challenge will be to use Bumrah in such a way he is not subjected to an overload. The IPL may seem like just four over per match, but there is plenty of travel and wear and tear. It is now up to the MI team management as well as the think-tank in the BCCI to protect Bumrah further.

With India scheduled to tour England this summer for a full Test series, Bumrah will be a key player. There was speculation in January if Rohit Sharma would even continue with cricket. He has made it clear, he will play till the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, hopefully, if he can stay fit. If that be the case, Rohit will be the captain in England and Bumrah will just be a frontline bowler. Sadly, at one point of time, Bumrah was even projected as Test captain of India. Now it appears the best for him would be to play cricket with a close eye on how much he bowls and what the workload will be. The lack of a proper fast bowling support cast for Bumrah in Australia was very clear. For those who think Mohd Shami can be there with Bumrah in England, his fitness and form are not that great now. There is a big difference between white ball cricket and Tests. It is in the red ball long format India want to see Bumrah fire those yorkers and dis miss batters. There is a catch, can Bumrah bowl full tilt again?