Hardik Pandya will continue as captain of the Mumbai Indians (MI) for IPL 2025. The team management has decided to keep faith in him despite a difficult IPL 2024 season that saw the team finish at the bottom of the table.
Due to a penalty for maintaining a slow over rate during an IPL 2024 match against the Lucknow Super Giants, Hardik will miss MI’s opening match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 23. This was the team’s third such offense, resulting in a ₹30 lakh fine and a one-match suspension for Pandya.
In Hardik’s absence, there are a few potential candidates to captain MI for the opening match against CSK, including Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. Although Rohit Sharma is also an option, it is unlikely he will captain for just one match. It is likely that Suryakumar Yadav will be the skipper for Mumbai’s opening match in IPL 2025.
MI retained key players
Jasprit Bumrah (₹18 crore), Suryakumar Yadav (₹16.35 crore), Rohit Sharma (₹16.30 crore), and Tilak Varma (₹8 crore). The franchise has ₹45 crore to build the rest of their squad at the mega auction. MI has also brought back Mahela Jayawardene as head coach for IPL 2025.
