IPL 2026: Why is Jasprit Bumrah not playing MI vs RR Match 69?

Published - 24 May 2026, 14:57 IST | Updated - 24 May 2026, 15:24 IST

Mumbai Indians (MI) are hosting the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday, May 24, at the historic venue of the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, in Match 69 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

The Royals come into this clash needing a victory to make their way into the playoffs. The win would seal their spot in the top four, but a loss would mean certain elimination, with the Punjab Kings or Kolkata Knight Riders going through. The five-time champions have had a dismal season throughout and would be looking to finish IPL 2026 on a high note.

Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl first for the Mumbai Indians. He acknowledged that the team has had a tough season but would be looking to finish the season on a high note. Riyan Parag wanted to bowl first as well and wants the team to maximise the opportunity that they have and make the play-offs.

Jasprit Bumrah has had a difficult season. The ace speedster has picked up just four wickets all season and was not at his best. MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that Bumrah was carrying a niggle from the T20 World Cup, which prompted a slow start to the season. He has been rested for the final game of the season, with another experienced pace bowler, Deepak Chahar, coming in.

For the Royals, captain Riyan Parag returns after missing the previous game. Nandre Burger and Ravindra Jadeja also return to the squad into the XI.

"We will have a bowl first. Looks like a good track, whenever we have played here in the afternoon, it tends to get better in the evening. ESA have got 20,000 kids in the stadium. 29 million kids have been effected overall. Every year, we come for this game, we know it will be loud. Good track. It looks hard. It gets slightly better when the sun goes down. It is a special game. It means a lot to the group. We want to play for the kids, give it our best shot and make it memorable. We have had a tough season but we want to do well today. Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) is resting. Deepak (Chahar) is playing."

"We would have bowled as well. We know that this could be our last game of the season and we will play like it, hope to get the 2 points. Everything we put together, all the energy and prep that went in, this is the time to maximise it and go in the playoffs. I feel we missed a few chances but it's on us. If we win we qualify and we don't have to wait for us. We have 3 changes. Nandre, Jadeja and I come back in."

Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Will Jacks, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Raghu Sharma, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Shardul Thakur

Impact Players: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Krish Bhagat, Trent Boult

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Yash Punja, Brijesh Sharma

Impact Players: Ravindra Jadeja, Sushant Mishra, Aman Rao, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande