IPL 2025: Know the player leading MI in Pandya's absence against CSK

Hardik Pandya (Pic: X/@mipaltan)

Mumbai Indians' (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya won't feature in their IPL 2025 first match against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Following Pandya's absence, Suryakumar Yadav will carry the captaincy baton in their IPL 2025 opener match against Chennai Super Kings on March 23. The match will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium at 7.30 PM.

Suryakumar is the skipper of India's T20I side and recently he also led the side to a 4-1 win against England.

However, his batting form wasn't particularly impressive and he managed just 38 runs in the five outings during the series.

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"Surya leads India as well. When I am not there he is the ideal choice," Hardik Pandya said during MI's pre-season press conference here. Taking to X:

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. The "Paltan" will play their first home game of the IPL 2025 at Wankhede Stadium against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31.

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. Additionally, it will be interesting to see if the franchise's fans extend their support to Hardik Pandya as the veteran faced severe criticism following the captaincy transfer.

Ahead of the cash-rich league, the Mumbaikars will keep tabs on Hardik Pandya after going through a forgetful season last year.

The IPL 2025 will kickstart on March 22 with the match being played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens at 7.30 PM.

(With PTI Inputs)