When will Jasprit Bumrah return? MI’s IPL 2025 campaign set to begin without their star bowler

Mumbai Indians (MI) will start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign on March 23, and interestingly, they'll face their arch-rivals, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), in their opening game. The epic rivalry returns, but this time, the Hardik Pandya-led MI might fall short of a win because they will miss their star bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. As per reports, Bumrah is likely to join the team in April and not before that.

He is recovering from the back injury that kept him away from cricket after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024. Despite having some of the best players in the tournament, such as Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, and many more, MI might still miss the presence of Bumrah in the first few games. 

The world is aware of how dangerous Bumrah is with the new ball, especially in T20. However, MI will hope for his speedy recovery as he is a key member of the team. Apart from this, MI's squad looks balanced with some specialist batters and bowlers. They have a strong chance of showcasing their dominance in the upcoming tournament. MI won their last title in 2020, but after that, they haven't been able to rise in the league. 

Delhi Capitals have announced Axar Patel as captain for IPL 2025

In an interesting turn of events, the Delhi Capitals (DC) have made Axar Patel the captain of the team for the upcoming season of the IPL. Despite having players like KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis, the franchise went with Axar, who doesn't have much experience in the captaincy department. It will be intriguing to see him manage the workload in the IPL 2025. 

DC took to their social media accounts to post a sweet video where they introduced Axar as the captain of the team. The franchise will play its first game on March 24 against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).