Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
On Sunday, February 16, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the much-anticipated schedule for the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the tournament opener at the Eden Gardens on March 22, the El Classico of cricket is scheduled for March 23.
Five-time champions, Mumbai Indians will take on Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, March 23 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, but the blue and the gold side is likely to miss the services of their skipper Hardik Pandya. However, a confirmation on the same will come out once the tournament nears, but several have speculated Hardik Pandya’s absence from MI’s first game.
Why will Hardik Pandya miss MI’s opening game in IPL 2025?
Notably, the Indian all-rounder was handed a one-match suspension in IPL 2024 after his third violation. As Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for the playoffs, the ban is likely to be carried forward in the upcoming edition, thus leading to his absence from CSK versus MI fixture.
A statement from BCCI confirming a penalty for MI skipper read, “As it was his team’s third offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over-rate offences, Pandya was fined INR 30 lakhs and banned from playing the team’s next match. The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either INR 12 lakhs or 50 percent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser.”
Mumbai Indians’ squad for IPL 2025
Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Naman Dhir, Robin Minz, Karn Sharma, Ryan Rickelton, Deepak Chahar, Will Jacks, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mitchell Santner, Reece Topley, Raj Angad Bawa, Shrijith Krishnan, Ashwani Kumar, Venkata Satyanarayana Penmetsa, Bevon Jacobs, Arjun Tendulkar, Lizaad Williams, Vignesh Puthur
