Jasprit Bumrah, the Mumbai Indians’ star pacer, has reported to the BCCI Centre of Excellence less than a week before the start of the Indian Premier League 2026 season. It’s still unknown if he came for a routine fitness evaluation or because of an injury. The Mumbai Indians’ season will start on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The right-arm pacer is presently at the Karnataka facility and has not yet joined the MI team, according to The Times of India. Mahela Jayawardene, the head coach of MI, said last week that four MI players who played for India in the T20 World Cup were given a longer break.
“Every year, our aim is to get there (win the trophy). But I know it’s a long season. So pre-season will start the way we usually start, working hard, getting new boys into the setup. And with our (T20) World Cup guys, we’ve given them a bit of an extended break so that they will join us next weekend,” said Jayawardene as quoted by TimesofIndia.
“The overseas guys also flew in home and then they will join us. But they’ll have a good one week training with us before the first game,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah comes into the competition with a fantastic appearance at the T20 world cup. The 32-year-old was the joint-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets, during which he played a crucial four-wicket contribution during the final which saw India win their second consecutive and third T20 world cup.
Bumrah also had a brilliant season with IPL 2025 where he took 18 wickets in 12 matches. His excellent efficiency of only 6.67 was remarkable during an era when games that were characterized by high scores of over 250 runs were the order of the day.
Bumrah still holds the record of the highest wicket taker by the Mumbai Indians as he has 183 IPL wickets, and he will be eager to add on to this in this new season. He remains a valuable and experienced heart of the team, and he has contributed majorly to four of the five championship drives made by MI.
