He has been sidelined since January due to a back issue, but he is expected to return to the MI squad by early April. As he continues to heal from the back injury that has kept him out of play since January, Jasprit Bumrah is expected to miss the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) opening IPL 2025 games. According to information obtained, Bumrah is anticipated to join the team by the beginning of April. MI has three matches planned in March, pending approval from the medical staff at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
After suffering a stress-related injury to his lower back on the second day of the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney on January 4, Bumrah has been recovering. India won the Champions Trophy earlier this month, but Bumrah was later disqualified. Since having surgery in March 2023, this is the first time Bumrah has suffered a back problem.
India’s top selector, Ajit Agarkar, stated that Bumrah had been instructed by the BCCI medical team to take a minimum of five weeks off from the SCG Test when he announced the team for the Champions Trophy in January. As the Champions Trophy didn’t begin until February 19, Bumrah was part of India’s reserve team. In early February, he went to Bengaluru for more scans, but he was not included in the final team because he was still uncomfortable.
It was unclear whether Bumrah would return on a specific date or how many games he would miss.
MI will play Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on March 29 after beginning their campaign in Chennai against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 23. These are MI’s first two away IPL 2025 games. Two days later, on March 31, MI will play their maiden home game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Then, in the first week of April, they play two games: one at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 7 and one against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Lucknow on April 4.
Because of his unusual behavior, Bumrah is prone to back problems, therefore the BCCI medical staff, the selectors, and the team think tank must manage his workload and make sure he gets enough sleep in between series and tournaments.
Shane Bond, the former fast bowler for New Zealand who previously worked with Bumrah at MI as the bowling coach, recently issued a warning that another back injury in the same location where he underwent the operation might be a “career ender” for Bumrah.
Given that India is set to travel to England in June to play a five-Test series just one month after the IPL ends on May 25, Bond, who had experienced chronic back problems during his playing career, stated that the “danger” zone for fast bowlers was when they moved too quickly from T20 to Test cricket. That was also his main concern for Bumrah.
