IPL 2026 | ‘Jasprit Bumrah Is Available To Play…’: MI’s Head Coach Puts ‘Speculations’ To Rest Ahead Of MI vs KKR

Putting all the reports around Jasprit Bumrah’s availability to rest, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that the talismanic pacer is fit and available for selection in MI’s match against KKR. As per a report, the MI pacer reported to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for workload management ahead, as per a report by the Times of India. However, Jayawardene, while addressing a press conference ahead of Mumbai’s opening match against KKR, confirmed Bumrah’s availability in response to a query from reporters.

“Bumrah is back with the squad. He’s available to play,” Mahela Jayawardene said.

Jayawardene further explained that players, especially bowlers, had heavy workloads due to continuous cricket leading up to and during the 2026 T20 World Cup, and said such challenges were expected, requiring careful management during the IPL.

“They all had to build up to the World Cup. The World Cup was quite intense as well. I mean, there was a lot of cricket played. There were a couple of Test series going as well before that. And then leading up to the T20 World Cup, there were a lot of bilateral tournaments. The workloads of some of them, I mean, most of them are bowlers who needed that bit of extra bake. And then the World Cup itself was quite high intensity, travelling, playing,” he said.

“That’s part and parcel of it. And we knew that going into this IPL, there would be those kinds of situations. So we just have to manage that,” Jayawardene added.

Jasprit Bumrah’s Workload Management 

The 32-year-old is the leader of the Indian attack irrespective of the format he plays. After the conclusion of IPL, India are set to play five T20Is and three ODIs during their tour of England, and Bumrah’s workload will come into the picture.

The right-arm speedster played a crucial role in helping India defend their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at home, a record no team has achieved earlier.

Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2026:

Hardik Pandya (captain), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickleton, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Naman Dhir, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Allah Ghafanzar, Ashwani Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Sherfane Rutherford, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Quinton de Kock, Danish Malewar, Mohammad Izhar, Atharva Ankolekar, Mayank Rawat. 

Also Read:  IPL 2026: From Gayle’s 175*, McCullum’s 158*, Abhishek Sharma’s 141 Highlight Top Individual Scores in IPL History | In PICS

with inputs from agency