Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin showered praise on Jasprit Bumrah ahead of IPL 2026. Ashwin said Bumrah is the kind of player who franchises can offer a blank cheque. Bumrah returned with impressive figures of 4-15 in his quota of four overs and was awarded Player of the Match after India registered a comprehensive 96-run win over the Kiwis in the final of the T20 World Cup.

The ace fast bowler took 14 wickets in the tournament at an average of 12.43 and a splendid economy rate of 6.21, which was the best for any bowler. 

Meanwhile, Bumrah had scalped 18 wickets in 12 matches of IPL 2025 at an average of 17.55 and an economy rate of 6.67.

Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “If you are a franchise owner, you can give him a blank cheque and tell him, ‘whatever cricket you want to play, please play for our team and leave the rest’. You don’t get a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah. How many teams have such a bowler? None. He can bowl at the death, make the ball swing in the powerplay. If runs are bleeding in the middle overs, he can come and stop it. Like a dam stops the water, Bumrah stops run flow.”

Ashwin said the Mumbai Indians will utilise Bumrah depending on the strength of the opposition in IPL 2026.

“Sometimes, you don’t even need to use Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay. If Allah Ghazanfar is getting a wicket and Deepak Chahar is operating well, then you won’t need him at the top. Mumbai have generally used Jasprit Bumrah as a stop-gap bowler. If runs are bleeding in one over, they bring him back and settle it. They can also bring him back at the death when the pressure is on.

“I think MI will utilize Bumrah depending on the strength of the opposition and not depending on where they want him to bowl,” he concluded.

Mumbai Indians will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on 29th March.