Suryakumar Yadav to captain MI in season opener against CSK

Suryakumar Yadav will lead Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2025 season opener against arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in Chennai.

Regular skipper Hardik Pandya is unavailable for this fixture due to a one-match ban imposed on him at the end of last season due to a slow over rate.

With Jasprit Bumrah also unavailable due to injury, Suryakumar's candidature isn't a surprise, especially since he has taken over the reins of T20I captaincy in the last year.

Hardik confirmed the news of Suryakumar's captaincy for the CSK game at the pre-season press conference that he attended with head coach Mahela Jayawardene.

"Suryakumar Yadav leads India as well. He will lead Mumbai Indians in the first match," revealed Hardik when asked who the stand-in skipper would be for the marquee clash.

Hardik is set to return as captain for MI's second match, an away fixture against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on March 29.