Jasprit Bumrah (IPL Photo)

NEW DELHI: Jasprit Bumrah finally led Mumbai Indians for the first time on Thursday, and his first reaction captured just how unexpected the moment was.“I didn’t think that I’ll be a Test captain before I’ll captain Mumbai Indians,” Bumrah said with a smile at the toss before MI’s IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.The fast bowler stepped in as captain with regular skipper Hardik Pandya unavailable due to a back spasm, while stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav missed the game for personal reasons.A long wait before first captaincyBumrah’s captaincy debut came after 156 IPL matches for MI, making him the second-most experienced player to lead an IPL side for the first time.Only Ravindra Jadeja had waited longer, taking charge only after 200 matches. Bumrah moved ahead of Manish Pandey (153), Axar Patel (148), Kieron Pollard (137) and even teammate Suryakumar (126).He also became the 10th player to captain Mumbai Indians in franchise’s history, adding another chapter to a season already filled with unusual changes for the five-time champions.

Most matches in IPL before leading a side

Bumrah’s message despite MI’s difficult seasonWith MI struggling near the bottom of the points table with just three wins from 11 matches, Bumrah said the team still wanted to embrace the final stretch rather than write the season off.“When cricket gives you good days, you take it. When it gives you challenges, it’s come to teach you something,” he said.He added that the side was determined to enjoy the remaining three matches and “ruffle a few teams” before the campaign ends.“I like responsibility. This is a new challenge. I’ll look to have fun,” Bumrah said.That summed up the occasion. After more than a decade with MI and 156 games in blue, one of the franchise’s greatest bowlers finally had the captain’s armband.