Star Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is all set to play for Mumbai Indians in their first match of IPL 2026. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will open their IPL 2026 campaign on Sunday (March 29) against Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and then take on Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday (April 4). According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo on Wednesday, Bumrah, who has reported to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for his workload management, will join the MI squad ahead of their season’s opener against Ajinkya Rahane-led side.
As per the available information, Bumrah is at the CoE these days, where he is working on his strength and conditioning. He is expected to continue bowling at CoE and before joining the Mumbai Indians.
32-year-old Bumrah, who has been associated with Mumbai Indians since 2013, will be a key player for the Hardik Pandya-led side in the world’s richest franchise cricket league this year.
In IPL 2026, Bumrah will lead MI’s fast bowling attack and will have Trent Boult, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya, Ashwani Kumar and Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar for support.
Bumrah eyes Malinga’s record
In IPL 2026, Bumrah will have a chance to enter his name in the record books by becoming MI’s highest wicket-taker. As of now, Bumrah has picked up 186 wickets in 148 T20 matches for the five-time IPL and two-time Champions League winners. The record of taking most wickets for MI in T20s is in the name of Lasith Malinga.
Malinga played 139 T20 matches for Mumbai Indians from 2009 to 2019 and accounted for the dismissal of 195 batters. He picked up 170 wickets in 122 IPL matches and dismissed 25 batters in 17 Champions League T20 matches. On the other hand, Bumrah has 183 wickets to his name in 145 IPL matches and 3 wickets in 3 Champions League T20 games.
Bumrah needs 10 more wickets to overtake Malinga, and if he manages to take 14 wickets in IPL 2026, then he will become the first Indian bowler to take 200 wickets for one team in T20s.
