Suryakumar Yadav will be leading Mumbai Indians in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in the absence of regular skipper Hardik Pandya, who will serve a one-match ban handed during IPL 2024. Mumbai Indians will be facing Chennai Super Kings in their opening match on Sunday at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
During IPL 2024, Hardik was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate in MI's last league-stage match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). And, that was his third offence of the season due to which he was given a one-match suspension for his next IPL game, along with an INR 30 lakh fine.
Suryakumar Yadav is incredibly experienced as he currently is the captain of Indian T20I team. Once has Yadav captained Mumbai Indians in a solitary IPL match, which was against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023. Meanwhile, Pandya will be available for Mumbai in their second game against Gujarat Titans on March 29.