Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya confirmed that Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the side in their IPL opener against the Chennai Super Kings which is set to be played on Sunday, March 23.
This comes as Pandya is set to face a one-match suspension for maintaining a slow over rate during last season.
“Surya is India’s T20 captain and in my absence, he is the ideal candidate,” Pandya said at a press conference on March 19.
This is not the first time that Suryakumar will be leading the Mumbai-based franchise. He captained them in Rohit’s absence back in the 2023 edition in a clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Hardik will be back as the captain in MI’s next clash which is scheduled to be played on March 29 against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Suryakumar has gained a lot of experience in captaincy as he was made the skipper of India’s T20I team last year under head coach Gautam Gambhir. He was the chosen as Rohit’s successor, who retired following India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar has a terrific captaincy record for India so far, winning 18 out of the 22 matches he has led the side in. He is also yet to lose a T20I series as captain.
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