Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene has allayed the fears and fitness concerns around Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of MI’s last match of the IPL 2026 season against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday (May 23).
Rohit’s season has been overshadowed by persistent concerns over a recurring hamstring injury that forced him to miss matches and later feature mainly as an Impact Player. The former India captain managed 283 runs in eight appearances, scoring at an impressive strike rate of 160.70.
His fitness became a bigger talking point when theBCCI included him in India’s men’s ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan, but with an asterisk, saying his participation was subject to fitness clearance. But Jayawardene firmly dismissed
suggestions that Rohit was still carrying an injury.
“Yes, he had a hamstring injury. We gave him the time that he needed to recover from that and then he came back,” Jayawardene said. “The first game also, we were cautious even with his batting, the way he was running because he had to adapt to it slowly, gradually coming back into it. But for me, the medical team, everything is 100%.”
The MI coach insisted that Rohit’s reduced fielding role was driven entirely by tactical considerations rather than concerns linked to India’s upcoming international commitments.
“To be honest, I don’t think about the Indian team or what their requirement is when I am assembling a team for Mumbai Indians,” Jayawardene said. “Rohit understands that he is a team player. He understands what is required for Mumbai Indians.”
Bumrah played 2026 T20 World Cup with an injury?
While Rohit battled fitness issues, Bumrah experienced a rare dip in effectiveness. The ace pacer endured one of the least productive IPL campaigns of his career, going wicketless for the first five matches and picking only four scalps since. Jayawardene disclosed that Bumrah had played the 2026 T20 World Cup while carrying a niggle, forcing MI to carefully manage his recovery and workload at the start of the IPL season.
“So, the first four-five games, it was a gradual build-up for him to get over that niggle that he had,” Jayawardene explained. “You could see the pace had dropped because of that. And then now he is back to his pace. The last four-five games, he has been good.”
The former Sri Lanka captain also revealed that Bumrah’s struggles were not solely physical, pointing to tactical factors and technical disruptions caused by the injury.
“He was bowling quite a few no-balls this season, if you remember. That’s to do with the build-up,” Jayawardene said. “The last few games, he was top-notch. He was back again, bowling that 140-142 kmph mark, he was nailing the yorkers.”
Despite Bumrah’s underwhelming numbers, Jayawardene made it clear that the franchise had no concerns about the fast bowler’s future.
