Mumbai, Apr 7 (UNI) In a significant boost for Mumbai Indians, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned to action after recovering from a back injury that kept him out of competitive cricket for over three months.
His comeback coincided with the return of former captain Rohit Sharma, as Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 20th match of the IPL 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.
Bumrah had sustained a lower back injury during the fifth Test against Australia earlier this year, ruling him out of the remainder of the series and the Champions Trophy. Following a focused rehabilitation programme at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, the ace pacer was declared fit and rejoined the Mumbai Indians squad.
He looked sharp in the nets ahead of the match, bowling with rhythm and accuracy. A clip from a training session—where he sent down a flurry of toe-crushing yorkers, went viral on social media and reignited excitement among fans. Mumbai’s bowling coach had earlier hinted at Bumrah being “match ready” and confident.
At the toss, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya confirmed the inclusion of the star players. “Jassie (Bumrah) is back and so is Ro (Rohit),” he said. Pandya opted to bowl first, citing dew as a possible factor. “This looks like a good track, dew might come in later. When dew comes, the wicket gets better. It always plays well for both teams. Mumbai has always been supporting us. Playing at home makes it different. The fans are behind you and you are aware of the conditions,” he added.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, who continues to lead in the absence of Faf du Plessis, said it’s important to adapt quickly. “It’s a typical Mumbai wicket, will be good to bat. It’s important to play good cricket. Bowling unit, it’s difficult to bowl here but I am very confident,” he said, confirming that RCB is playing an unchanged XI.
Playing XIs:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru*: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.
Mumbai Indians: Will Jacks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Vignesh Puthur.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Swastik Chikara, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Rohit Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa
