Suryakumar Yadav will lead Mumbai Indians in their first match of IPL 2025 against the Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23 (Sunday). Regular captain Hardik Pandya will miss MI’s season opener as he was banned for one match for his repeated over-rate offences last year. MI were deemed short of the required over rate in their last match in IPL 2024 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium. Captain Hardik was also slapped with a 30% fine on his match fee, as it was his third offence last year.
“Surya leads India as well. When I am not there, he is the ideal choice in this format and an exciting one as well,” Hardik said in MI’s pre-season press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.
When asked about the one-match suspension, Hardik said it was beyond his control. “That is out of my control. Last year what occured is a part of the sport. What happened is that we bowled the last over 2-2.5 minutes late. At that time, I was not aware of the consequences. It was unfortunate but rules say it so I have to go with the process. Whether the penalty should continue in the next season or not, it is on the higher authorities.”
Suryakumar is the national T20 captain and recently led the side to a 4-1 triumph over England at home. However, his batting form wasn’t particularly impressive and he managed just 38 runs in the five outings during the series.
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said the BCCI has communicated the one-match ban on Pandya to the team owing to three slow over-rate violations by his team last season.
MI had finished at the bottom of the heap, managing just four wins against 10 losses in 2024, which was Pandya’s debut year as captain.He took over from Rohit Sharma, who led the side to five trophies but was struggling at that stage.
