IPL 2025: Will Jasprit Bumrah injury affect Mumbai Indians?

Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah is definitely a vital clog whether he is playing for the national team or in the Indian Premier League (IPL). According to reports, the premier fast bowler is very much likely to miss the initial few games of IPL 2025 for the Mumbai Indians (MI) due to an injury. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will be kickstarting their IPL 2025 campaign against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 23 March, 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. On the other hand, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be taking on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the tournament opener on 22 March, 2025 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. 

During a recent conversation, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene mentioned his concerns on Bumrah's unavailability during the start of Indian Premier League 2025 season. Incidentally, the Indian pacer is still recovering from a back injury which he sustained during the fifth and final Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under earlier this year and he has already started bowling at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence(also called the National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru. 

"[Bumrah] has just started his progress. We have to wait and see what their [BCCI medical team] feedback is on him. At the moment, everything is going well. But, obviously, it is on a day-to-day basis. He is in good spirits. Not having him is a challenge. He is one of the best bowlers in the world and he has been a fantastic pro for us for many years," stated MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene during a recent event. 

"We'll have to wait or find an opportunity for someone else to step up. That's how I see it. It gives us an element of trying a few things and see how things work. The early part of the season allows us to do that," he added. 

While talking about Jasprit Bumrah stats in IPL, the right-arm fast bowler has picked up a total of 165 wickets from as many as 133 matches at an average of 22.52 and a fine economy of less than 8. Interestingly, he also missed the entire IPL 2023 season for the Mumbai Indians due to a back injury. In the absence of Bumrah, the duo of Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult will have to step up and take the responsibilities in the pace bowling department especially during the initial phase of IPL 2025. 

MI IPL 2025 Squad

Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Will Jacks, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Shrijith Krishnan, Raj Angad Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Bevan Jacobs, Lizaad Williams, Arjun Tendulkar, Vignesh Puthur.