You don’t have to be a sports expert to understand that the
Mumbai Indians are a franchise which, after a few below-par seasons, are now focused on trying to reclaim their lost crown and glory. The five-time IPL champions haven’t won the title since 2020 and in the last four completed seasons they have finished tenth (or last) twice and managed to make the play-offs once.
There’s no doubt that the team has been in transition mode for a while and have been in the process of building a team for the future, while also investing in potential future stars via their enviable scouting network, like
Vignesh Puthur. But they are also a franchise which became synonymous with consistency and made sure that the Chennai Super Kings weren’t the only team people talked about, when they had discussions about consistent, top-notch performances in the league.
And that is something the men in blue and gold want to experience again. And one man they will desperately be hoping joins the ranks soon and plays a major role in that quest of theirs is the talismanic Jasprit Bumrah.
But what exactly is the status of his rehabilitation?
The trouble is no one seems to be quite sure about when Bumrah can be back in action. There haven’t been any regular updates on him, barring news reports which claimed that he has started bowling at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, but is yet to regain full fitness.
Out of action since the ‘back spasms’ in Sydney
The Indian pace spearhead was last seen in action during the fifth and final Test of the last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, in Australia. Bumrah, who was the Indian stand-in captain in that match, had to leave the ground during the second session of Day 2, after bowling just one over post lunch. About half an hour later he left the SCG, in training gear, for scans. The official word was –
he was suffering from back spasms. Bumrah was the standout performer for India in that Test series, with 32 wickets and fought, at many times, a lone battle. According to ESPNCricinfo, he bowled 24.4 per cent of India’s overs and took 40 per cent of their wickets. Anyone who followed the cricket in that series saw that he gave it his all and more.
The “spasms” or a potential complication of a back injury that saw him undergo surgery in March 2023 was perhaps not really surprising then? The big question is – what lessons did the Indian team management learn from this and will Bumrah’s workload be monitored and tackled differently in the future, not just by the Indian team, but also his IPL franchise?
For now though, it’s the Mumbai Indians management who will be keenly monitoring his progress.
At the beginning of IPL 2025, reports claimed that Bumrah would miss the first few games of the season. But after the four-wicket loss in their season opener against CSK, MI assistant coach and former India cricketer Paras Mhambrey hinted that there is still no exact time-frame as such, as far as Bumrah’s potential return to the MI fold is concerned, saying – “I won’t dwell into the time frame right now. I would leave it to the upper management team, who are coordinating with the NCA guys. They are pretty happy.”
The IPL is what made Bumrah a household name. The Mumbai Indians, via former coach John Wright, gave him the launchpad that catapulted him straight into the Indian team. It was also the platform that he needed to show the world that despite having a unique bowling action, which many felt, would cut down his playing days, he could be world-class.
Over the years Bumrah and the Mumbai Indians became synonymous with each other and the bowler who took world cricket by storm and whose growth and rise have been nothing short of meteoric will himself be itching to wear the Mumbai colours, as soon as possible again. But will it be as simple as clearance from the BCCI CoE medical team and straight into IPL action for the man who is behind only Lasith Malinga in the list of highest wicket-takers for MI in T20 cricket? Just how careful will the franchise have to be with his workload? And in those questions lies a huge conundrum for the five-time IPL champions.
Though a bowler can only bowl a maximum of four overs in a T20 match, should Bumrah be asked to go full tilt as soon as he is back in MI colours this season?
Bond’s warning for MI and Team India
Earlier this month,
former New Zealand fast bowler and ex-MI bowling coach Shane Bond told ESPNCricinfo_,_”….if he (Bumrah) has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I am not sure you can have surgery on that spot again.” Coming from someone like Bond, you have to take these words as the gospel truth. He too had a career affected by back injuries, he too had his first back surgery at the age of 29, just like Bumrah. In other words, the MI camp have to be extra careful with their star pacer. But remember, Bumrah is not just their pace spearhead, he is Team India’s as well. And India have a gruelling five-match Test tour of England coming up, June 20 onwards, which will also mark the beginning of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
Now, it’s obvious that the selectors will want Bumrah to be on the flight to England for this high-profile series, but here’s the catch – there are two four-day tour games (as per latest news reports which quoted an ECB statement) scheduled for the India A team against the England Lions on May 30 and June 6. The Board will want most of the key players to be a part of that India A team and the BCCI and the selectors will dearly hope that Bumrah is available for these acclimatisation matches as well.
But these begin barely four days after the IPL final. Even if Mumbai Indians don’t make the playoffs cut this season, their last league match is scheduled for May 15, at the Wankhede stadium against the Delhi Capitals. That’s still just 15 days before the start of the first four-day game. In other words, if Bumrah does play IPL matches this season, he will have to be in good enough shape to rest and recover enough to fly out to England to play a tour game on May 30. Even if he skips the tour games, if he is not in the best of shape after his IPL 2025 workload, that could have a direct impact on his availability for the Test series against England.
After the loss in the last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where India relinquished the trophy after a decade, this is one Test series everyone in the corridors of power in Indian cricket will be desperately hoping to win. And they will want their number one fast bowler to be fully fit and available.
Bumrah’s workload management more crucial now than ever
Needless to say, workload management and timely breaks will be crucial for Bumrah once he is back in action. But if he is available, just how difficult will it be for the MI management to give him regular breaks? The IPL is not just about playing matches, often with very short turnaround schedules, but also travel and training. Also look at the schedule – after two months plus of gruelling T20 cricket (IPL), Team India regulars will have to almost dive straight into Test cricket. In Shane Bond’s words – “…the (transition from) IPL to the Test championship will be a risk.”
There’s no doubt that Team India Head coach Gautam Gambhir and others in the management group will be keeping a close eye on Bumrah, as and when he joins the Mumbai camp for the IPL this season. Will we see Bumrah play all the matches on the tour of England or will he be given a break there as well? The fact that
he missed the entire ICC Champions Trophy was in itself perhaps an indicator of two things – maybe what he experienced in Sydney when he had to walk off the ground weren’t just “spasms” and – no one wants to take any chances as far as his fitness is concerned.
So, what are the plans for his workload management in the IPL this season? Mumbai Indians have one of the best support staff mechanisms in the league and they will no doubt go all out to support their star bowler in every which way. One thing that we can be rest assured about is that though there will be the temptation to play him in every match, as and when he rejoins the Mumbai camp, they will not push him to play if there’s even an iota of doubt about his fitness. His future – both for the Mumbai Indians and the Indian team is just too precious.
Bumrah is more than just a phenomenal bowling asset for Team India, he is also potentially the next India Test captain. Protecting him, at all costs, should be a priority target.