Jasprit Bumrah to link up with Mumbai Indians squad ahead of IPL 2025 match against RCB: Reports

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set to link up with the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Monday, April 7, as per India Today. However, the 31-year-old is unlikely to play for the five-time IPL champions on Monday.

The report said that Bumrah had been given the clearance by the medical team at BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE). The 31-year-old may need to undergo a few match simulations before he is deemed match-fit. The report also claimed that Bumrah could play for MI against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, April 13.

Bumrah was seen bowling at the CoE earlier this week, which raised hopes of him playing in IPL 2025. He has been away from cricket since the fifth Test of the 2024-24 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January 2025. He missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which India won without losing a single match.

Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra said that the five-time IPL champions looked "slightly weak" without Bumrah in the playing XI. He felt that MI's bowling plan needed changes, especially at the backend of the innings.

"I think they are missing Jasprit Bumrah very badly, and until he comes, this team will look slightly weak. However, he will come when he has to, but are those who are there doing the right things? In my opinion, they need to pick their XI properly, which they are not doing," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"Your bowling plan is wrong. Satyanarayana Raju is a good bowler. He bowls back-of-the-hand slower ones at the death, but should he be your death specialist? You have to get your death bowling done between (Trent) Boult, Topley, Bumrah and Deepak Chahar," he added.

MI hand debuts to rookie pacers in Jasprit Bumrah's absence

In Jasprit Bumrah's absence, MI have handed debuts to two pacers - Satyanarayana Raju and Ashwani Kumar. While the former is yet to make a significant impact in IPL 2025, the latter claimed a four-wicket haul on debut against Kolkata Knight Riders, which helped MI win their first match of the season.

Bumrah was MI's highest-paid retention before the mega auction in November 2024, with the franchise retaining him for Rs 18 crore.

MI have lost three out of their four matches in IPL 2025 so far, with their latest defeat coming at the hands of Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow on Friday.