Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav – Who will lead Mumbai Indians in their season-opener against CSK in Hardik Pandya’s absence?

The Mumbai Indians have named a stand-in captain in Hardik Pandya's absence for the IPL opener.

Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav – Who will lead Mumbai Indians in their season-opener against CSK in Hardik Pandya’s absence?

Suryakumar Yadav has been named MI's stand-in skipper, in Hardik Pandya's absence. (via ESPN)

Five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians have named Suryakumar Yadav as the skipper for the team’s season opener against arch-rivals, Chennai Super Kings, ahead of Rohit Sharma. The 34-year-old batter will stand in for suspended MI captain Hardik Pandya, on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians will step into the 2025 IPL season with all guns blazing, after having endured a difficult 2024 season. The five-time winners ended in the 10th position on the IPL table. They managed to win just four out of their 14 league matches. They will be hoping to bounce back under captain Hardik Pandya. He had returned to MI in November 2023, after two seasons with the Gujarat Titans.

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The 31-year-old took over as the MI captain from Rohit Sharma, a move that was met with disapproval from fans. They expressed their discontent by booing him throughout the 2024 season. Hardik Pandya’s individual performance was also underwhelming, scoring 216 runs with an average of 18.00 while batting in various positions. He took just 11 wickets throughout the season, with a high economy rate of 10.75.

However, after a dismal IPL outing and several personal challenges, Pandya recouped himself. He then went on to help India win the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, and more recently, the 2025 Champions Trophy. Despite having regained the fans’ trust, he is set to sit out for MI’s season opener. Pandya will be serving a one-match suspension for maintaining a slow over-rate in Mumbai’s last IPL match in 2024.

Hardik Pandya was fined INR 30 lakhs and handed a one-match ban, which has spilled over into the new season. In his absence, MI have named Suryakumar Yadav as the stand-in skipper, over five-time IPL winning captain Rohit Sharma or New Zealand white-ball captain Mitchell Santner. While Sharma seemed to be an obvious pick after India’s recent CT triumph, MI went the other way.

Suryakumar Yadav has been India’s T20I captain since July 2024. He took over from Rohit Sharma, after the latter’s retirement from T20Is last year. The 34-year-old batter boasts a brilliant captaincy record, having won 18 out of 23 matches he has led the side in. Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene labelled him as an ‘ideal choice’, during a pre-season press conference.

Surya leads India as well. When I am not there, he is the ideal choice in this format and an exciting one as well.

Hardik Pandya in a pre-season press conference (H/T Mint)

Mumbai Indians haven’t won the IPL opener since 2012, and the absence of Hardik Pandya and star bowler Jasprit Bumrah could make it difficult. However, the team does have several new faces, who will play a crucial role.

Hardik Pandya pins hopes on Mumbai Indians’ experienced bowling lineup in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya pinned his hopes on the team’s experienced bowling lineup to step up, in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence. MI will miss out on the services of the star Indian bowler for the initial stages, as he is yet to recover from a back injury.

Hardik Pandya Rohit Sharma MI
Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma (via NDTV)

Jaspirt Bumrah has not received a green light from the BCCI to feature in the upcoming season of the IPL. However in his absence, the team does have some good backups. Mumbai Indians have a packed bowling lineup, comprising Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Reece Topley and Corbin Bosch.

Speaking ahead of the new season, skipper Hardik Pandya expressed confidence in the bowling lineup. He also highlighted that the experience that the players carry will have role to play at Wankhede. He noted the team’s bowling pick at the 2025 IPL Mega auction, and spoke about the plan for the rest of the season.

The plan is very clear – you get a lot of experience in the team, because Wankhede can be sometimes very unforgiving to the bowlers, the kind of track which we play in. 

Hardik Pandya in a pre-season press conference (H/T Hindu)

Apart from the aforementioned players, MI also has several uncapped bowling talents. The list includes Ashwani Kumar, Satyanarayana Raju, Arjun Tendulkar and Raj Angad Bawa. Additionally, the team also has spinners Mitchell Santner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Karn Sharma.