Hardik Pandya Banned From Mumbai Indians’ Opening IPL 2025 Fixture Due To This Reason

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed the schedule for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It didn’t take much time for the Chennai Super Kings’ fans to indicate that Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians’ captain, will miss the opening clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Mumbai’s very first game of the season will be against the arch-rivals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 23, after the season will begin between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 22 at the Eden Gardens.

Banned Hardik Pandya to miss opening fixture against Chennai Super Kings

Many fans have raised their eyebrows to speculate how a player can get banned from the opening game of the new season. But that happened because of the all-rounder’s previous offenses. The Baroda player received a fine of INR 30 lakh after Mumbai’s final IPL 2024 group stage game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

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The regulations of the league ruled Pandya out of the new season’s first game, as he will be available for their second clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on March 29 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“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.” The official IPL media release stated in the previous season.

“As it was Hardik Pandya's team’s third offense of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to a minimum over rate offenses, Pandya was fined ₹30 lakh and banned from playing the team’s next match.” The report stated.

All the other team members, including Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Verma, and Jasprit Bumrah, got a fine of INR 12 lakh for their respective match fees.

Mumbai Indian seeks development in IPL 2025

Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, Mumbai finished at the bottom of the points table in the 2025 season of the IPL. They had a terrible start in the season, with three defeats before earning two back-to-back victories. In their next six encounters, only one win came against the Punjab Kings (PBKS).

The bowling and batting performance for the entire 2024 season wasn’t up to the mark for the five-time champions. They finished the season with another defeat against the Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at home.

The premier all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, who became the new captain of the franchise replacing Rohit Sharma, didn’t perform well with both bat and ball.

Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav could lead Mumbai Indians in Hardik Pandya’s absence

The five-time champions will play their first home game at the Wankhede Stadium in April. With Hardik Panday’s absence in the opening clash of the season against the Super Kings in Chennai, the franchise has a few options for the leadership department.

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Rohit, who has led the side to five titles in the league’s history, can be back in captaining the One Family. Suryakumar Yadav led the side in the past and could be another option for the captaincy position. Jasprit Bumrah is another in the mix, but his recent injury that ruled him out of the Champions Trophy hasn’t confirmed his presence at the start of the season.

The final of the IPL 2025 will be played at the Eden Gardens on May 25, while the qualifier 1 and eliminator will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.