If you are a franchise owner, you can give him a blank cheque

Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin has hailed Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Jasprit Bumrah as one of the finest bowlers in the world. According to Ashwin, Bumrah is so valuable and unique that franchise owners can go to the extent of offering him a blank cheque, asking him to playing exclusively for them for the rest of his cricketing career.

Bumrah was one of the standout performers as India won the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier this month. In eight matches, the right-arm pacer claimed 14 wickets at an average of 12.43 and a splendid economy rate of 6.21. The fast bowler will next be seen in action for MI in IPL 2026.

During a discussion on his YouTube show Ash ki baat, Ashwin hailed Bumrah as a once-in-a-generation bowler and made a huge comment on his skills. He said:

“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.”

Bumrah claimed 18 wickets in 12 matches in IPL 2025 at an average of 17.55 and an economy rate of 6.67 as MI reached the playoffs, but lost Qualifier 2 to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets in Ahmedabad.

“MI will utilize Bumrah depending on the strength of the opposition” – R Ashwin

Asked about how the Mumbai franchise should utilize Bumrah’s bowling skills for IPL 2026, Ashwin opined that a lot will depend on the strength of the opposition. The former India off-spinner pointed out that Bumrah has the ability to bowl at any given point in a match and added:

“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 will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, March 29.