Why Hardik Pandya Is Not Playing Mumbai Indians First IPL 2025 Game Against CSK- IPL

Five-time titleholders Mumbai Indians will take on archrivals Chennai Super Kings in their opening game of IPL 2025. The electrifying clash between the two most accomplished teams in the lucrative league’s history is set to be held at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unveiled the complete schedule of IPL 2025 on Sunday, February 16, and in the forthcoming 18th edition of the world’s wealthiest franchise cricket tournament, MI and CSK will lock horns twice.

However, star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was retained as Mumbai Indians skipper for IPL 2025 on October 31 last year by the franchise owners, will be unavailable for the MI-CSK encounter at Chepauk on March 23. The 31-year-old cricketer, who made his IPL captaincy debut for MI last season, received a one-match suspension following MI’s final group-stage fixture of IPL 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants. He was also slapped with a Rs 30 lakh fine for maintaining a sluggish over rate.

“As it was his team’s third violation of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct concerning minimum over-rate offences, Pandya was penalized INR 30 lakh and suspended from the team’s next match. The remaining members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either INR 12 lakh or 50 percent of their respective match fees, whichever was lower,” the BCCI stated.

Who Will Lead MI Against CSK in Hardik Pandya’s Absence?

With Pandya compelled to miss the crucial showdown, Mumbai Indians will need to appoint a stand-in captain for the game. Most likely, India’s T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav could take charge, though handing the leadership back to former skipper Rohit Sharma remains a strong possibility. Mumbai Indians endured one of their worst campaigns in IPL history last season, finishing at the bottom of the standings. With their captain sidelined for the opening clash, staging a strong comeback won’t be an easy task.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2025 Squad

Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, Krishnan Shrijith, Raj Angad Bawa, Bevon Jacobs, Vignesh Puthur, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Allah Ghazanfar, Ashwani Kumar, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams.

Mumbai Indians IPL 2025 Schedule: Match Dates, Timings & Venues