MUMBAI: Mumbai Indians received an early setback in their IPL 2025 campaign after captain Hardik Pandya remains suspended for the opening fixture. Pandya and coach Mahela Jayawardene announced on Wednesday that Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20 captain, will lead the team in MI’s opener against Chennai Super Kings.
“We have been officially communicated that Hardik has to miss the first game,” said Jayawardene.
“Suryakumar Yadav will lead Mumbai Indians in the first match,” Pandya confirmed.
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As MI captain, Pandya will be leading SKY, India’s T20I skipper and India’s other format skippers in Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.
“I am lucky that I have three captains playing with me — Rohit, Surya, and Bumrah. They always place an arm around my shoulder and are there when I need any help,” he said.
Pandya’s suspension stems from MI’s slow over-rate violation in their final league match of IPL 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). As it was Pandya’s third such offence, he received a one-match suspension and a Rs 30 lakh fine.
Pandya will resume captaincy duties against Gujarat Titans.
