Jasprit Bumrah (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
Dharamsala: Jasprit BumrahAs the first outing of Mumbai Indians Skipper felt less like a temporary fix and more like a glimpse into a possible future.MI won, Bumrah looked smart and unruffled, and the franchise may have its most stable leadership option for next season if the “uncertainty” surrounds. Hardik Pandya There is more Surya Kumar YadavBatting continues.As far as Bumrah’s captaincy for MI is concerned, one game is too small to draw big conclusions from. But as subplots go, it’s off to a great start.Bumrah had long waited for this leadership opportunity. He captained MI in just his 157th IPL, an almost ridiculously late handover for a cricketer who joined the franchise in 2013 and has since become one of its key figures. At the toss, Bumrah joked: “I didn’t expect to be a Test captain before I became the Mumbai Indians captain,” a line that contained both humor and incredulity.This comment also captures the central awkwardness of Bumrah’s leadership arc. Before Mumbai, India trusted him. 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 Edgbaston Test in 2022 when Rohit Sharma was ruled out with covid, then guided the T20I team to a 2–0 series win in Ireland in 2023 and later stood out during the Perth Test in the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won.What emerged in Dharamsala was not just the result but the style. Bumrah came across as composed, composed and in control, the kind of captain who doesn’t try to dominate a room so much as stick to it. He said he welcomes the responsibility, calls it a new challenge and talks about enjoying the end 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 provide continuity with the bat, Bumrah offered MI an easy center of gravity. He doesn’t need to prove his worth to the franchise. Every spell already does. His captaincy has a sense of problem solving rather than that of a showman.Shardul Thakur, who returned with figures of 4/39 against Punjab Kings on Thursday, made the big picture clean. “I have a comfort level with him (Bumrah). Instead we had a lot of conversations, and I don’t know much about the other bowlers, but of course he’s never shy about sharing his thoughts,” Thakur said after the match. “He’s definitely a bowler’s captain.”Thakur added that each of MI’s three captains this season – Hardik Pandya, Surya Kumar Yadav and Bumrah – brought “different ideas” and insisted there was no set formula for success. He also argued that players make good captains, praising the trio’s experience and match-winning ability.“As a captain, you need to read the game situation better than others, give your best and always put the team above yourself,” Thakur said.
