'Jasprit Bumrah's absence a challenge': MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene
What's the story
Mahela Jayawardene, the Mumbai Indians head coach, has acknowledged the difficulty of not having Jasprit Bumrah at the beginning of IPL 2025. He hoped the star pacer would be able to join the team soon.
"Not having him is a challenge. He is one of the best bowlers in the world and he has been a fantastic pro for us for many years," Jayawardene said during a press conference in Mumbai.
MI will player their opener against Chennai Super Kings.
Recovery update
Bumrah recovering at BCCI's Center of Excellence
Bumrah is currently recovering from a back injury he sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, at the BCCI's Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Jayawardene gave an update on his recovery process, saying, "Jasprit is at the moment with NCA. He has just started his progress... He is in good spirits."
The MI coach stressed that they need to wait for feedback from the BCCI medical team on Bumrah's condition.
Team strategy
Bumrah's absence opens opportunities for other players
Jayawardene also said Bumrah's absence could give an opportunity to other players to step up.
"We'll have to wait or find an opportunity for someone else to step up - that's how I see it," he said.
This way MI can experiment with different strategies in the initial part of the season, and see how things pan out.
Team dynamics
Who will replace Bumrah?
Bumrah has been an integral part of MI since 2013, having taken 165 wickets in 133 matches. His propensity to produce wickets both at the start and death stands out.
His absence could be a major blow to MI's bowling strategy as Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar are mostly powerplay bowlers.
The team also has Reece Topley, Hardik Pandya, Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, and Arjun Tendulkar among their frontline quicks.
Information
Bumrah shines in death overs
It is worth noting that Bumrah's economy rate of 8.39 in death overs (IPL) is the second-lowest among pacers with 50-plus wickets in this phase. As per ESPNcricinfo, he is only behind Lasith Malinga in this regard (7.82).