Jasprit Bumrah became the Mumbai Indians’ third captain of IPL 2026 when he walked out to toss against the Punjab Kings at Dharamshala on Thursday, May 14.
Jasprit Bumrah is leading Mumbai Indians for the first time
The viewers at Dharamshala were in for a surprise when Bumrah walked out for the toss for the Mumbai Indians alongside Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer.
MI captain Hardik Pandya has already missed three games this season. Suryakumar Yadav, the T20 World Cup-winning India captain, had filled in for him. However, Bumrah explained at the toss that Surya had now opted out of the PBKS match due to personal reasons, which was why he had to step in.
Bumrah won the toss and opted to field. At the time of writing, PBKS were 12-0 in 1.3 overs.
This is the first time Bumrah is leading in the IPL. At the toss, he joked that he had not thought of leading India in Test cricket before in the IPL. He became the 41st IPL captain, 10th to lead MI, and their third captain in 2026.
This was the fifth instance of three men leading a franchise in the same IPL season. In the tournament's first-ever edition, in 2008, Harbhajan Singh became their first captain when Sachin Tendulkar missed the early stages. When Harbhajan was suspended on disciplinary grounds, Shaun Pollock led until Tendulkar returned.
Match 58, Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
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- Ball by ball Over
Teams with three captains in the same season of the IPL
| Season | Team | Captain 1 | Captain 2 | Captain 3 |
| 2008 | Mumbai Indians | Harbhajan Singh | Shaun Pollock | Sachin Tendulkar |
| 2013 | Pune Warriors India | Angelo Mathews | Ross Taylor | Aaron Finch |
| 2021 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | David Warner | Kane Williamson | Manish Pandey |
| 2024 | Punjab Kings | Shikhar Dhawan | Sam Curran | Jitesh Sharma |
| 2026 | Mumbai Indians | Hardik Pandya | Suryakumar Yadav | Jasprit Bumrah |
