Mumbai Indians (MI) created history as Jasprit Bumrah became the third player to lead them in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday (May 14). At the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) in Dharamshala, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have also led the team in the ongoing campaign, which makes them the first trio of Indian players to lead the same in a single edition of the league.
Overall, this is only the fifth instance of a team being led by three different captains in an IPL season. MI has also become the first team that has had two different seasons in which this has happened. Earlier, three players led MI in the inaugural season of the league in 2008.
In the four previous instances of three players leading a team in an IPL season, there was at least one overseas player that took charge of the team. Pune Warriors India in 2013 remains the only instance of three foreigners leading the team in the same edition.
Three Players Leading A Team In Single Edition Of The IPL
| team | Year | captains |
| Mumbai Indians | 2008 | Harbhajan Singh, Shaun Pollock, Sachin Tendulkar |
| Pune Warriors India | 2013 | Angelo Matthews, Ross Taylor, Aaron Finch |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2021 | David Warner, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey |
| Punjab Kings | 2024 | Shikhar Dhawan, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma |
| Mumbai Indians | 2026 | Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah |
Why Did Jasprit Bumrah Lead MI?
Bumrah led MI as both captain Hardik Pandya (back injury) and vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav (personal reasons) were absent. This is the fourth game that Hardik has not played for MI in the 2026 season and the third game in a row. Previously, Suryakumar Yadav led the team in the three games where Hardik was not playing.
Bumrah became the 10th player to lead MI in the IPL after Harbhajan Singh, Shaun Pollock, Sachin Tendulkar, Dwayne Bravo, Ricky Ponting, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik and Suryakumar.
Jasprit Bumrah Creates History
Today was the first instance of Bumrah leading a team in his IPL career. The star pacer started his career in 2013 and has played only for MI in his career. The game against PBKS was Bumrah’s 156th in the world’s richest cricket career. The 32-year-old’s wait to lead a team is the second longest for any player. Only Ravindra Jadeja’s captaincy debut came after playing more games.
Players With Most Matches Before Leading An IPL Team
| player | Matches |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 200 |
| jasprit bumrah | 156 |
| Manish Pandey | 153 |
| Axar Patel | 148 |
| Kieron Pollard | 137 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 126 |
Jasprit Bumrah Starts Captaincy Tenure With Win
Bumrah registered a victory in his first match as MI’s captain as they pulled off a heroic six-wicket victory against PBKS with one ball left. Tilak Varma (75 of 33) was the star of the show as the five-time champions chased down a total of 201 runs. Earlier, Sharduk Thakur took a four-wicket haul (4-39).
However, the star pacer’s poor season with the ball continued as he finished wicketless while conceding 35 runs in four overs. Bumrah has only taken three wickets in 12 matches this season in what is a rare bad campaign in his glorious career. He has been part of all five title-winning teams for the franchise.
