MI will open their campaign against KKR at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
However, Bumrah linked up with the MI squad on Friday (March 27) evening and had his first training session with the team on Saturday (March 28).
Speaking to the media on the eve of MI’s campaign opener against KKR at the Wankhede Stadium, head coach Mahela Jayawardene explained that Bumrah's brief absence was part of a planned recovery and conditioning program at the BCCI Centre of Excellence following the intense T20 World Cup 2026.
Earlier this month, Bumrah played a pivotal role in India’s T20 World Cup title defence. Before joining the MI camp, he spent a few days at the CoE. This was a routine visit for workload management and strength and conditioning on recommendation of the BCCI medical team, rather than an injury concern.
“Well, obviously, I mean, 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,” Jayawardene said in the post-match presser.
“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,” he added.
Despite speculation surrounding his fitness, the coach confirmed Bumrah's availability to bolster the MI bowling attack in the team's first match against KKR.
“And then the World Cup itself was quite high intensity, travelling, playing. So that’s part and parcel of it. And we knew that going into this IPL, there will be those kind of situations. So we just have to manage that. And Jassi is back with the squad. He’s available to play,” Jayawardene remarked.
This confirmation provided a major boost to the Mumbai Indians as they look to start their campaign on a high note, particularly given Bumrah's pivotal role in recent high-intensity cricket.