Why is Hardik Pandya not playing in the Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 opener against CSK?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has published its 18th season's matches. The IPL 2025 will begin on March 22 in Kolkata, with the Mumbai Indians facing rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 23. However, the Mumbai Indians will be missing their skipper, Hardik Pandya, for the first match.

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The inaugural week will also feature a doubleheader on the following day, Sunday. Sunrisers Hyderabad, the runners-up from the previous edition, will face the Rajasthan Royals in the afternoon match.

It will be followed by a highly anticipated match between the league's two most successful franchises, the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians, in Chepauk.

Hardik Pandya is out of MI’s first match of IPL 2025

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However, due to the fallout from the last edition, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya will not play in the tie. The leading all-rounder was fined Rs 30 lakh following Mumbai Indians' final group stage match against Lucknow Super Giants the previous season, along with a suspension from MI's first IPL fixture in 2025.

Meanwhile, other team members, including Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, were fined 50 percent or INR 12 lakh of their respective match fees, whichever was lower.

As a result, Pandya will only be eligible for the five-time champions beginning with their second encounter against the Gujarat Titans on March 29.

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“Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on May 17,” an official IPL media release had stated. “As it was his team’s third offense of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offenses, Pandya was fined ₹30 lakhs and banned from playing the team’s next match,” the IPL statement stated.

MI has yet to name a captain for the match in Chennai, but there are plenty of candidates. Rohit Sharma, one of the IPL's most successful captains, is an obvious choice. MI also has India's Test captain, Jasprit Bumrah, and T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, on their team.

Hardik Pandya was put under great pressure last year when MI finished at the bottom of the table with only four wins in 14 games. MI fans booed him when he replaced Rohit Sharma as franchise captain.

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