Be it for the boys in blue or those in blue and gold, he has been the saviour for a major part of the last decade. No wonder that with him having been sidelined from the first fortnight of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians is far from having set the stage alight so far in IPL 2025.
Naturally, when he joined the squad on Saturday, the MI camp received a big morale boost. When he ran in – albeit not in full steam – and asked a few questions of the veteran batter Rohit Sharma, whose availability for Monday’s marquee clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru is all but certain, the team saw multiple faces light up despite mediocre results so far.”
Such has been his aura that Jasprit Bumrah’s availability for the key clash, confirmed by head coach Mahela Jayawardene, will lend balance to the MI’s line-up. With Bumrah sidelined and Rohit missing out on Mumbai’s previous loss in Lucknow after being hit on his knee in the nets, MI has had little to celebrate so far.
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But the five-time champion will bank on Bumrah to showcase his class and restrict an outfit that started its campaign on song. Having overcome Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings before suffering a setback against Gujarat Titans, RCB will be keen on registering a hat-trick of wins against three of the most successful IPL franchises.
Virat Kohli and Phil Salt will be hoping to counter the pace and swing of Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. With the red-soil surface aiding the MI pace pack in its previous home game, even RCB’s Josh Hazlewood will be looking forward to spewing venom against Rohit and Co.
Having suffered three losses in four outings so far, the time is running out for MI. Can Bumrah give it a breath of fresh air?