Bumrah links up with Mumbai Indians ahead of home clash against RCB

In a significant boost for the struggling Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah has rejoined the squad ahead of their IPL 2025 home fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Monday.

Bumrah’s return comes after receiving medical clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he had been undergoing rehab for a lower back issue since January. He is now set to coordinate with the MI support staff, headed by Mahela Jayawardene, to plan his return to action.

As of April 4, it was reported that Bumrah would miss at least the upcoming match against RCB. However, he had been steadily increasing his bowling workload and was close to completing his final fitness assessments. Only after clearing those tests was he allowed to rejoin the franchise.

Known for being meticulous about his fitness, Bumrah is taking a cautious approach to his comeback, mindful of India’s upcoming five-Test series in England starting June 28.

MI have had a mixed start to the season, winning just one of their four matches so far. In Bumrah’s absence, the team handed IPL debuts to Satyanarayana Raju, Vignesh Puthur, and Ashwani Kumar, while relying on Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, and skipper Hardik Pandya to lead the pace attack.

Bumrah has been a one-franchise man in the IPL, having represented Mumbai Indians since his debut in 2013. Over the years, he has taken 165 wickets in 133 matches. The only season he missed was in 2023 due to a back injury, which had required surgery. His current injury surfaced during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney on January 4, ruling him out of the Champions Trophy, which India went on to win.

This marks the first recurrence of a back issue for Bumrah since that surgery, and both MI and India will be keen to manage his workload carefully moving forward.

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