Jasprit Bumrah joins Mumbai Indians camp, set to kick off IPL 2025 campaign

Mi fans have finally found an assurance of the much-awaited return of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2025. The team has played four matches so far this season, managing to win just one, the MI vs KKR fixture at Wankhede. So far, Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar have led the pace attack, with skipper Hardik Pandya operating as the third seamer. Beyond this established trio, the team has rotated between the likes of Ashwani Kumar and Satyanarayana Raju. In addition, young spinner Vignesh Puthur also made his debut. Both Ashwani, with his pace, and Puthur, with his spin, enjoyed dream debuts for the franchise. However, the return of Jasprit Bumrah is expected to bring much-needed balance to the MI bowling unit.

Jasprit Bumrah joins the Mumbai Indians camp ahead of MI vs RCB IPL 2025 match

Jasprit Bumrah has joined with the Mumbai Indians camp ahead of their IPL 2025 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scheduled for April 7 at the Wankhede Stadium. However, the set date of his return into the MI Playing XI is not cleared as of yet. Given that he’s only just returned from an extended injury layoff, he’s unlikely to be included in the playing XI for the fixture.

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Bumrah had sustained a back injury during the final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney earlier this year. Following medical advice from the BCCI, he was told to rest for five weeks starting in early January. As a result, he was ruled out of the home white-ball series against England and missed the ICC Champions Trophy campaign as well. Ever since his return from Australia, the pacer has been in rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

Over the past few weeks, the 31-year-old has been slowly ramping up his bowling intensity as part of his return-to-play protocol. He was cleared by the BCCI medical staff only after successfully completing his fitness assessments and has now rejoined the MI squad. Mumbai Indians, who currently have one win from their first four matches this season, have leaned on new names like Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur, and Ashwani Kumar to fill the pace void, while senior bowlers Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar have led the fast-bowling charge.

Hardik Pandya has also chipped in, recently grabbing his maiden IPL five-wicket haul. While the pace department has fared notably with breakout performance from Ashwani Kumar, Bumrah's arrival is a crucial aspect of their campaign ahead. Since making his debut in 2013, Bumrah has been an indispensable part of MI’s bowling unit, bagging 165 wickets from 133 appearances. The only IPL season he had missed before this injury spell was in 2023, due to a similar back surgery.