Follow Us
In an odd revelation before the commencement of Indian Premier League 2025, Mumbai Indians have been hit hard with the expected unavailability of full-time captain Hardik Pandya. The injury concerns with Jasprit Bumrah have not ended yet, and now this update is disappointing for Mumbai Indians. Hardik Pandya will not be featured in the playing XI for MI’s season opener clash against rival Chennai Super Kings on the evening of Sunday at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on March 23, 2025. As a stand-in skipper, Suryakumar Yadav who leads the international team of India in T20I, will be spearheading Mumbai Indians in the absence of star performer Hardik Pandya who is one of the retained players in the squad.
It was anticipated that Hardik Pandya would have no choice other than sitting in the dugout for the opening match following a ban for one match as a penalty for maintaining a slow overrate by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024. This startling development ahead of IPL 2025 may send shockwaves across fans as they have not forgotten the recent heroics of Rohit Sharma in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Despite his availability, Hardik Pandya chose the name of Suryakumar who lately guided the national T20I team to a 4-1 victory over England at home grounds. As a matter of concern, his form was not captivating and he added only 38 runs in the five meetings against England. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was in red-hot form in the recent final against New Zealand as he placed a full stop to criticism against his performance as he piled on 76 runs off 83 balls at the peak time of the Champions Trophy and stamped his authority as a captain.
Suryakumar Yadav led Mumbai Indians successfully in IPL 2023 for one match when Rohit Sharma had to sit out. Hardik voiced his decision to elect Suryakumar as a skipper for the match against CSK at the press conference held just before the start of the 18th edition of IPL which he addressed with Mahela Jayawardene who is the head coach of Mumbai Indians. “Suryakumar Yadav leads India as well. He will lead Mumbai Indians in the first match,” expressed Hardik when he was asked about the pick for a stand-in captain for the exciting clash. Hardik Pandya will make a comeback as a skipper for MI’s next matches in IPL 2025.
