Jasprit Bumrah (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
DHARAMSHALA: Jasprit Bumrah’s first outing as Mumbai Indians captain did not feel like a temporary fix but rather a glimpse of a possible future.MI won, Bumrah sounded sharp and unruffled and the franchise may have found its most stable leadership for next season if the ‘uncertainty’ around Hardik Pandya remains and Suryakumar Yadav’s batting remains questionable.One game is too small a sample to draw sweeping conclusions about Bumrah’s captaincy for MI. But as subplots go, this one is off to a convincing start.Bumrah has been waiting a long time for this leadership opportunity. He did not captain MI until his 157th IPL appearance, an almost absurdly late handover for a cricketer who joined the franchise in 2013 and has since become one of its defining figures. At the toss, Bumrah quipped, “I didn’t expect to be a Test captain before I captained Mumbai Indians,” a line that carried both humor and a touch of disbelief.This remark also captured the main peculiarity of Bumrah’s leadership. India trusted him before Bombay. He has already captained India in Tests and T20Is, winning one Test, losing two, winning two T20Is and seeing one washout. He first led India in the rescheduled Test at Edgbaston in 2022 when Rohit Sharma was ruled out with Covid, then led the T20I side to a 2–0 series win in Ireland in 2023 and later took part in the Perth Test in the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won.What stood out in Dharam-sala was not just the result but the method. Bumrah came across as a poised, concise and commanding type of captain who doesn’t try to dominate the room so much as hold it. He said he welcomed the responsibility, calling it a new challenge and talked about enjoying the final stretch of the season rather than just surviving.That tone matters for a team that has spent the season searching for balance. With Hardik unavailable and Surya not always able to offer continuity with the bat, Bumrah offered MI an easier center of gravity. He doesn’t need to prove his value to the franchise; every spell already does that. His captain feels like a problem solver, not a showman.Shardul Thakur, who bounced back with figures of 4/39 against Punjab Kings on Thursday, neatly framed the bigger picture. “I have my comfort level with him (Bumrah). We had a lot of discussions and I don’t know much about the other bowlers but of course he is never afraid to share his ideas,” Thakur said after the match. “He’s definitely the captain of the bowlers.Thakur added that each of MI’s three captains this season – Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Bumrah – brought “different sets of ideas” and insisted there was no fixed formula for success. He also argued that players make captains look good, praising the experience and match-winning ability of all three.“As a captain, you have to read game situations better than others, give your best effort and keep the team on top,” said Thakur.
