TATA IPL 2025: Suryakumar to Lead MI in Opener Against CSK, Confirms Hardik
Suryakumar Yadav will captain Mumbai Indians in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday (March 23) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Hardik Pandya has been given a one-match ban for poor over-rate in the last match of the previous season of the IPL and in his absence, Surya has been made MI's captain.
Hardik confirmed the news in the pre-season media conference on Wednesday (March 19) saying Surya is the perfect man to captain the team when he is away. "Suryakumar Yadav is India's T20I captain. So, it is perfect for him to captain the MI team in my absence in the first game against CSK", Hardik explained.
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said they have been informed officially regarding one-match ban for Hardik during IPL 2024. MI played against Lucknow Super Giants in their last league stage game of the previous season and suffered an 18-run defeat in the match. As far as poor over-rate during that particular match is concerned, it was their third infractions of the season and per regulations, their skipper gets a one-match ban.
Since MI did not make it to the playoffs, Hardik Pandya has been kept out of their opening match of IPL 2025. Coming to Suryakumar Yadav, he has captained Mumbai Indians previously in the 2023 season of IPL and went on to win that game.
Hardik was much more confident in the pre-season media conference than he was in the previous season after he took over as the skipper from Rohit in a controversial move. After sidestepping tricky questions later, this season he is fortunate to have three captains in the team. "I am fortunate that I have three captains playing along with me - Rohit, Surya & Bumrah. They put an arm around my shoulder always & are there when I require any assistance", Hardik explained.
