In a blow to Mumbai Indians, premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the first few games of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The development was announced by cricket news website ESPNCricinfo on Friday (Mar 14). He is expected to join the team in early April, which is also subject to clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence. 

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The IPL 2025 season starts on March 22 with the match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Also Read: Two-time ICC trophy winning all-rounder Axar Patel is new Delhi Capitals captain for IPL 2025

Bumrah is going through a stress-related back injury which he picked up in the fifth Test against Australia in away Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series earlier in January. He hasn't played any form of cricket since.

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The pacer, owing to the injury, was also excluded from India's Champions Trophy squad despite being named among 15-man provisional team. BCCI, however, decided not to include him in the final 15 after assessing him before the tournament squad announcement deadline.

Bumrah is a vital cog in India's pace lineup. He played an important role in India winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in South Africa. His availability for the England Test tour, which follows the IPL 2025, will be crucial for India's chances.

With two world cups in sight- T20 in 2026 and ODI in 2027 - taking care of Bumrah's fitness is of paramount importance for India. Recently, former MI bowling coach and NZ pacer Shane Bond also said that Bumrah has to be taken care of extremely well in order to extend his career.

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According to Bond, an injury in the same area where Bumrah had a surgery done in 2023, could potential end his career prematurely.

"Look, I think Booms will be fine, but it's just that [workload] management [matters]," Bond said in a chat with ESPNCricinfo during the Champions Trophy 2025.