Suryakumar Yadav is set to lead the Mumbai Indians in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The usual captain, Hardik Pandya, will miss this match because he has a one-match ban. Hardik Pandya and coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed it on Wednesday.
Mumbai Indians will kick off their season against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 23. Suryakumar Yadav will take charge and lead the five-time champions in the high voltage “El Clasico” match against the Super Kings on their home ground.
Hardik Pandya’s one match ban
Hardik got banned for one match because Mumbai was slow with their overs in their last game of the 2024 season against Lucknow Super Giants. This was Hardik’s third time doing this in the season, so he had to pay a fine of Rs. 30 lakh and miss a match. Because of this, he can’t play in the first game of the 2025 season.
Suryakumar Yadav leading MI for second time
Suryakumar Yadav, who is now the captain of the Indian T20I team, has led Mumbai Indians in just one IPL match, which happened in 2023. Hardik Pandya became the full-time captain of the Mumbai Indians before the 2024 season, taking over from Rohit Sharma. Rohit had an impressive run, leading Mumbai to five IPL titles.
Hardik Pandya 3.0
From facing boos from the Wankhede crowd and fans, to cluching to win T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy, Pandya has faced a massive turnaround his following and fan support this year. On the new version of him, he said, “My life has been quite up and down, but learning is something I’ve always enjoyed. It hasn’t just taught me about sport, but about life as well. This year is a fresh start—many things have changed, and many things have been added. Every year feels like an upgrade, a new version of myself—3.0, 4.0, and so on. Challenges are something I love, and if challenges are thrown at my boys, I want to help them. That, for me, is the biggest challenge.”
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