Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the Mumbai Indians in their first match of IPL 2025 against the Chennai Super Kings. The game will take place at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23 (Sunday). Their regular captain, Hardik Pandya, will not be playing because he has been banned for one match due to slow over-rate issues last season. He got this ban after the Mumbai Indians did not bowl their overs on time during their last match against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Hardik mentioned, “When I’m not there, Surya is the best choice to lead the team in this format. He brings excitement.” He explained that the situation was unfortunate and was beyond his control. He learned that his team finished late in their bowling by two to two-and-a-half minutes and didn’t realize the serious consequences at the time.
Suryakumar is also the captain of India’s T20 team and recently led them to a 4-1 victory against England. However, his personal performance wasn’t very good as he only scored 38 runs in five matches during that series.
MI’s head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, said that the BCCI informed them about Hardik’s one-match ban due to three past slow over-rate issues last season. The Mumbai Indians had a tough time last year, finishing last with only four wins out of ten matches when Hardik was new to being the captain.
Hardik believes that to improve their game, they simply need to play well. “It’s not complicated. We just need to enjoy the game, support each other, and play good cricket.” Hardik will be back for the next match against the Gujarat Titans on March 29.
Leave a Reply