Mumbai Indians (MI) will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav during their first IPL 2025 match with regular skipper Hardik Pandya serving a suspension that carried over from the last season.
Confirming the news, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene announced in a Mumbai press conference, “We have officially been told that Hardik will have to miss the first game. Suryakumar will be the captain for the game.”
The suspension is due to MI’s tardy over-rate in their last IPL 2024 league match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Being the third offence of the season, Hardik was issued a one-match ban and a ₹30 lakh fine.
Clarifying the situation, Hardik conceded he did not know the ramifications of the delay. “This is out of my control. We bowled the last over a minute or two delayed last season, and I didn’t realize the penalty for doing that at the time,” he described. “It’s disappointing, but rules are rules. Whether or not this rule remains next season is with the higher brass.”
Since Hardik is not available, Surya, having done it in T20Is before, was the obvious choice to lead MI. “Surya has led India too. When I am not there, he’s the best person for the job,” Hardik admitted.
MI will start their campaign against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chennai on March 23. The side will also miss the pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is recuperating from a lower-back injury that has kept him out of action since January. Bumrah is likely to miss several matches early in the season.
Hardik will return for MI’s second game against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on March 29. MI will then play their first home match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31, followed by two more games in early April—against LSG in Lucknow on April 4 and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home on April 7.
MI will be looking to make a strong comeback following a dismal IPL 2024 season, where they last-placed with a paltry four victories in 14 matches.
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