There was a buzz of optimism around the Mumbai Indians camp on Sunday as Jasprit Bumrah marked his return ahead of their next IPL 2025 fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who’s been recovering from a troublesome back injury, was seen sharing a warm moment with teammate Trent Boult at the Wankhede Stadium — a reunion that MI later posted on social media, much to the delight of fans.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Tim David said that his team will be looking to attack Jasprit Bumrah as they take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Match 20 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) on Monday, April 7 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Jasprit Bumrah has been declared fit by MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene for the upcoming fixture as he’s set to return to play after four months.
Jasprit Bumrah’s tryst with injuries and his return to IPL 2025
Jasprit Bumrah has been out of action since January after injuring his back on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney. The setback forced him out of the remainder of the match — where Australia sealed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 — and subsequently sidelined him from India’s home series against England and the Champions Trophy in February-March.
Following medical advice, Jasprit Bumrah was required to take a five-week rest before beginning his rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His progress was closely monitored, but there was official confirmation on whether the National Cricket Academy (NCA) had cleared him to play competitive cricket again. Jasprit Bumrah, however, has confirmed that he has, indeed, been cleared to play again. “Finally got the clearance,” Bumrah told Boult.
The heartening visuals of Jasprit Bumrah back in MI colours — joined by his wife Sanjana Ganesan and their son Angad — lifted the mood among MI fans, as the side has been struggling to find momentum this season. With just one win from their opening four matches, the five-time champions are languishing in the bottom half of the table and are in desperate need of a turnaround.
The only previous IPL season Jasprit Bumrah missed was in 2023, when a serious back injury had ruled him out of the entire campaign, requiring surgery. Now, with 165 wickets in 133 matches, his return could not be more timely for a side searching for inspiration .RCB’s Tim David wants openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt to hit Jasprit Bumrah’s first ball for a boundary in their IPL 2025 clash against MI.
Tim David challenges Virat Kohli and Phil Salt to hit Jasprit Bumrah for first ball boundary or six in their clash vs MI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finisher Tim David wants his team’s openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt to hit comeback man Jasprit Bumrah’s first ball for a boundary to make a ‘statement’ in Monday’s IPL 2025 clash against Mumbai Indians (MI). Tim David also said that Bumrah, who is returning after a three months-long injury layoff, will present a challenge that RCB ‘want to have’ and make the league better.
Jasprit Bumrah suffered a back injury during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy which kept him out of all competitive cricket and the MI‘s first four matches of the season. In that period, MI lost three games to drop to number eight in the points table whereas RCB won two of their first three to sit comfortably at third.
“Yeah Bumrah’s pretty widely recognized as the best bowler going around and that’s the challenge we want to have at RCB,” David said in the pre-match press conference.
“If we’re going to go deep in this tournament, we need to beat the best teams, we need to beat the best players. So, hopefully Bumrah is bowling the first over tomorrow night and the first ball goes for 4 or 6 from whoever’s opening the batting for us, that’ll be a statement. It’ll be great to have him back playing in the tournament because the game’s better with him in it,” he added.
Speaking on how he’d like to face the daunting pacer, David joked that he’d get his ‘toes out of the way’ before adding that he was looking forward to the challenge.
“I’ll just try and get my toes out of the way, he’s got a pretty lethal yorker. He’s a brilliant bowler and when you put in big performances against the best teams, against the best players, they’re the best feelings you get as a player. So you want to be challenged by the best and I’m looking forward to that,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah has excellent numbers against RCB, taking 29 wickets in 19 matches at an average of 19.03. Tim David, who played for MI for three seasons (2022-24) has never faced Bumrah in the IPL. They have come across each other for 10 balls in T20Is, where Tim David has scored 15 runs without getting out.
Also Read: MI vs RCB : MI Hope For Magic With Jasprit Bumrah’s Return Against High Flying RCB