Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has joined the Mumbai Indians squad ahead of their blockbuster clash against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29. The star bowler recently checked into BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, but there was no information regarding the possible reason. Since Bumrah has already linked up with the squad, it is now considered to be a routine visit ahead of the marathon tournament.
On the other hand, England’s Will Jacks and New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner are yet to join the squad. There’s no official update on the reason behind their delay. Santner, who played the first three T20Is against South Africa last week, is expected to have taken a small break before joining the squad.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi practices keeping
Youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi is still being considered as a possible wicket-keeping option by KKR. After releasing both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock after IPL 2025, head coach Abhishek Nayar advised the youngster to practice keeping and glimpses were seen in the Mumbai league. However, after KKR signed Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Tejasvi Dahiya in the auction, Raghuvanshi was expected not to take up the role.
Nevertheless, Allen is expected to play solely as a batter in the tournament, in order to protect his back, while Seifert is likely to warm the bench. There’s no clarity if Dahiya will make it to the playing XI, leaving Raghuvanshi the hard task of keeping wickets. Against the likes of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, it won’t be an easy task, but the 21-year-old is seen putting a lot of effort in the nets.
Can Mumbai break their IPL curse?
For 13 years straight, Mumbai have not won their opening game in the IPL. In 2026, they face KKR, who apparently have a miserable head-to-head record against MI. Thus, the Hardik Pandya-led side will be confident of their chances this time around but in cricket, nothing is guaranteed. If Bumrah plays, they certainly will be the favourites to start with.
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