Mumbai: Ahead of their first match in IPL-2026 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night, the Mumbai Indians had a huge reason to cheer, but also some cause for slight concern.
At the pre-match press conference at Wankhede, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that world cricket’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah had joined their camp after returning from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
“Jassi is back with the squad; he is available to play,” the former Sri Lankan captain said. However, Mahela revealed that New Zealand left-arm spinner and T20 captain Mitchell Santner and English allrounder Will Jacks had sought an “extended break” from MI, which they were granted.
“With the guys who are joining, obviously Mitch and Jacksey (Will Jacks) asked for a slightly extended time for personal reasons, and we were quite happy to go with that. But they’ll join the team pretty soon,” the head coach informed.
Bumrah, Jacks, and Santner were the notable absentees from MI’s mandatory training session held two days before their first match at the Wankhede Stadium. After the T20 World Cup final loss against India on March 8, Santner captained New Zealand for the first three T20Is against South Africa at home and was given a break for the last two.
Jacks, meanwhile, was part of the England squad that lost to India in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium and had departed India on a chartered flight shortly after. It is yet to be confirmed whether either Santner or Jacks has arrived in India. Both players are crucial overseas options for MI.
Bumrah was at the CoE for the past five days, but those tracking developments insisted that it wasn’t due to any injury, but a routine visit aimed at monitoring his workload. With 14 wickets in eight matches at 12.42 and an economy rate of 6.21, a best haul of four for 15 in the final against New Zealand, and some ultra-crucial spells at the death during the business end of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Bumrah stamped his class in the tournament. MI will want the ‘king of fast bowlers’ to hit his strides early in IPL-2026.
Let’s hope MI’s shocking first game record continues: Watson
Meanwhile, perennial slow starters MI would be itching to end their jinx of losing the first match of the IPL every year when they take on KKR in their IPL season opener, while KKR’s new assistant coach Shane Watson hoped to capitalise on MI’s habitual tendency to stumble at the start of the season.
“Well, let’s hope that shocking record that MI have in the first game continues. Obviously, we’re playing here at the Wankhede Stadium… it’s a fortress. The Mumbai Indians are very hard to beat here. I’ve experienced this from a playing perspective and a coaching perspective, so you know we’re certainly going to have to be at our very best against MI. They’re always stacked with match-winners across the board, so let’s hope that poor record to start the tournament continues,” Watson said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Refreshed after enjoying an “extended break,” as Mahela put it, MI’s 2026 T20 World Cup heroes Bumrah, India’s T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav, star allrounder and MI captain Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma will be raring to go.
MI will want Suryakumar—the 35-year-old batter who managed to score just 242 runs in nine matches at 30.25 with a strike rate of 136.72 and was out for a duck in the final—to rediscover his touch and repeat the consistency he displayed in IPL-2025, when he scored 717 runs in 16 matches at 65.18, with a strike rate of 167.91, including five fifties.
The five-time champions will also be pleased with the way their former captain and modern-day great Rohit Sharma is tuning up for the championship. Aiming to feature in the 2027 ODI World Cup in October-November next year, the 38-year-old will be fully aware of how closely his performances will be tracked during IPL-2026. In fact, with Rohit having improved his fitness drastically in the past year, it doesn’t seem that MI will use the veteran batsman as an ‘Impact Player’ who will just bat and rest in the dugout for the rest of the match.
Asked if Rohit’s lack of T20 game time—he hasn’t played a T20 match for 10 months, since featuring in the second qualifier against Punjab Kings on June 1 last year—was an issue, Mahela praised the veteran batter. “There’s a transformation in Rohit. I’ve seen the commitment on his part. He’s been training his skills for a longer period of time. That is what is in his control, what he can do, and I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve seen in the practice games and in the nets. The hand speed, the technique, everything. And then on top of that, he has his experience as well, playing 18 years of IPL on top of that. So I have no issues with that. But it’s a game of cricket. We have to understand that and then play along with that,” complimented the MI head coach.
It remains to be seen who among the two South African left-handers will open with Rohit—seasoned bat Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton.
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