Mumbai Indians (MI) are set to start their IPL 2025 marketing campaign with out their premier quick bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who remains to be recovering from a decrease again damage sustained in January.
Bumrah, who has been present process rehabilitation on the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, is predicted to rejoin the squad by early April, topic to medical clearance. MI have three matches scheduled in March, that means he might miss a portion of the match’s early levels, as per ESPNcricinfo.
The pacer suffered a stress-related again damage on the second day of the ultimate Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney on January 4. As a outcome, he was dominated out of the Champions Trophy, which India went on to win earlier this month. This marks the primary recurrence of his again points since he underwent surgical procedure in March 2023.
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When India’s squad for the Champions Trophy was introduced in January, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Bumrah had been suggested by the BCCI medical staff to offload for a minimum of 5 weeks following the Sydney Test. Although initially named in India’s provisional squad, he underwent contemporary scans in early February and continued to expertise discomfort, finally lacking the match.
Mumbai Indians’ fixtures
It stays unsure what number of IPL matches Bumrah might be unavailable for, with no confirmed timeline for his return. MI’s first two matches are away fixtures—towards Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai on March 23 and Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on March 29. Their first house sport is towards Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31, adopted by fixtures towards Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on April 4 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Mumbai on April 7.
Given his distinctive bowling motion, Bumrah has been inclined to again points, prompting the BCCI’s medical workers and staff administration to handle his workload fastidiously. Former New Zealand quick bowler Shane Bond, who beforehand labored with him as MI’s bowling coach, lately expressed concern in regards to the long-term implications of one other again damage in the identical space the place he underwent surgical procedure. Bond, who handled persistent again accidents throughout his personal profession, cautioned that one other setback might probably finish Bumrah’s profession.
He additionally highlighted the dangers of transitioning too shortly from T20 cricket to Test matches. With India set to tour England for a five-Test sequence beginning in June, barely a month after the IPL concludes on May 25, Bumrah’s health might be a key concern for the staff administration.
Published – March 14, 2025 02:45 pm IST
