On Sunday evening, as Mumbai Indians (MI) prepared to play their fifth match of the IPL 2025 season, news that fans had eagerly been waiting on finally dropped—Jasprit Bumrah back in the MI squad after an injury layoff of almost two months. While the Mumbai-based franchise will be ecstatic about Bumrah’s return to a lineup that seems lacklustre without him, his comeback means more than just that.
In the fifth and final Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground last January, when skipper Bumrah walked off the field, into the dressing and then out to car that took him to the hospital—fans and journalists alike held their breath. India had just lost their best performer.
Weeks later, it was confirmed that Bumrah had suffered another back injury and would be off the field for a while. The setback shouldn’t have been a surprise either given how Bumrah literally carried India’s bowling in Australia, taking 32 wickets in a five-Test series where only one other Indian bowler [Mohammed Siraj with 20] took more than six.
While MI fans breathe a sigh of relief, Bumrah’s return to bowling is also a positive sign for India’s Test squad as they prepare to take on England in June at the start of a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. But his return is still about maintaining a delicate balance, as experts suggest that India’s premier bowler will have to ease into bowling.
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While his workload will be closely managed by the BCCI, it is assumed that Bumrah will not play all five Test matches in England to save himself from another injury. After the horrors of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, management will do everything they can to avoid a repeat.
Without Bumrah, India have struggled, especially in red ball-cricket. While they have done exceptionally well in the limited-overs version, his absence leaves a void. Fans have flooded social media, ecstatic at the return of the fast bowler. While some reports suggested that Bumrah might not play, it is understood by RevSportz that he will most likely feature in Monday’s game against Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB).
The stage is set at the Wankhede stadium, as an inconsistent Mumbai Indians side that have won just once this season welcome back their talismanic pace bowler. As fans prepare to chant ‘Boom-boom Bumrah’ and anticipate cartwheeling stumps tonight, the real challenge lies ahead – the Test series in England in June.
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