Mahela Jayawardene reveals that Jasprit Bumrah is injured, which is why he is not performing well.

Generally, when Bumrah is out of the team, people talk about managing his workload—and that’s absolutely fair, because you can’t overburden a world-class bowler like him. But is his workload being managed even during matches? It may sound a bit strange, but this is exactly what Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene has said.

Look, Bumrah has been wicketless in all matches so far this IPL season, which is quite shocking. Responding to this, Jayawardene said that Bumrah had a minor injury at the start, and because of that, he wasn’t bowling at full intensity. He was managing his workload. In the last few matches, his pace has picked up, and the team has noticed that. Now, he is in a much more comfortable state.

On Bumrah not taking wickets, Jayawardene defended him by saying that he is bowling well—it’s just that the other bowlers aren’t creating enough pressure during the powerplay.

But the bigger question is: if Bumrah isn’t 100% fit, why is he playing? Isn’t playing him like this a risk to his fitness? What if he ends up with a serious injury—who would be responsible?

Yes, it’s true that even if Bumrah isn’t taking wickets, his economy rate is still better than most others. Even in the match against Punjab, apart from Allah Ghazanfar, bowlers like Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur all conceded more runs than Bumrah.

But from a player’s perspective, Bumrah isn’t limited to the IPL—he’s a world-class Indian bowler. Risking his fitness could weaken Team India’s bowling attack. So perhaps Mumbai Indians really need to think carefully about this.