face a major hurdle before the start of the IPL 2025 season. Star pacer is set to miss the initial matches due to a lower back injury. Bumrah, who sustained the injury during the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, has been sidelined since January has been recovering at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene addressed the issue in a pre-season press conference, confirming that Bumrah’s recovery is progressing well but remains a day-to-day process. Speaking to the media he said., “We have to wait and see their feedback on him. At the moment it is going well, the progress is on day to day basis. he is in good spirits. Not having him is a challenge. He is the best bowler in the world,”
With Bumrah unavailable, the responsibility of leading Mumbai’s pace attack falls on Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar. While both bowlers have the knack of picking wickets in powerplay it will be the death bowling that remains a concern for the five time IPL champions. However, Jayawardene that while missing Bumrah is a big challenge, it also provides an opportunity for other bowlers to step up.
Hardik Pandya to miss match against Chennai Super Kings
Hardik Pandya is set to miss the opening match against Chennai Super Kings due to a one-match suspension for his team’s over-rate offence in the last season. Asked if he feels hard done by the ban for an offence that was committed last season, Pandya said: “That is out of my control. Last year what occurred was part of the sport; we were one and a half or two minutes late in the last over. I didn’t know the consequences at that time. It’s unfortunate, but rules say this. So I have to go with the rules. Next year (whether) they will continue with this rule or not, that is up to the higher authorities.”
