New Delhi: Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya was not part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) playing XI for their IPL 2025 opening match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The excitement for both fans was very high as their respective teams started the tournament in a blockbuster clash between the two fierce competitors.
Many of the fans might be taken by surprise to watch Hardik not leading the five-time IPL champions after he was named the captain of the team following the announcement of the IPL 2025 retentions. Hardik was one of the five retentions made by the franchise ahead of the mega auction along with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Tilak Varma.
Suryakumar, who is the captain of the Indian men’s T20 International side, was the stand-in captain for MI in its first match of IPL 2025. Nothing of this was sudden but already known to the players and management in the scheme of things.
The reason for Hardik missing CSK match
The official reason for Hardik’s unavailability for the CSK match is because the player is serving a one-match suspension. The ban dates back to an offence committed in last season during Mumbai Indians’ last league fixture against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Mumbai, which they lost by 18 runs. Hardik, who was the MI captain, was sanctioned for slow over rate in that match, and consequently, was handed one-match suspension.
As MI didn’t progress to the playoffs in IPL 2024, the decision to ban Hardik was carried forward in the team’s first match of IPL 2025.
The Baroda player will be available to lead MI from their second match in the season against Gujarat Titans on March 29 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Mumbai outfit will look for a better show this season after they endured a poor campaign with just four wins from 14 league matches to languish at the bottom of the points table.
Hardik Pandya, Mumbai Indians’ captain, missed their IPL 2025 opener against Chennai Super Kings because of a consequence of an instance in IPL 2024. Suryakumar Yadav captained the team in his absence. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
