MI is one of the most winning teams in the IPL, with five championships under their belt. But they haven’t been doing so hot lately. Their last win was back in 2020, and in the 2024 IPL season, they finished last, losing 10 out of 14 games.
There was a big change in leadership when Hardik Pandya took over as captain from Rohit Sharma for the IPL 2024 season. This didn’t sit well with MI fans, who booed Pandya. There were also talks of problems within the team because of the change, which made things worse.
For IPL 2025, the team is keeping players like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rohit Sharma. They also got some good players, like Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner, during the auction. Seems like Hardik and Rohit have put their problems aside after leading India to wins at the T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy, which could mean MI has a shot at a sixth title.
MI kicks off their season against CSK on March 23. Even though Hardik Pandya is the captain, he won’t be playing in the match against CSK. So, they’ll need someone else to lead the team. Pandya is suspended for one match because of a slow over rate during MI’s last IPL 2024 game against LSG. This is the third time MI has been penalized for this, which led to their captain’s suspension.
MI has a few players who could captain the team against CSK. Rohit Sharma would be the obvious choice, but it’s not likely he’ll take up the role again after last season. Jasprit Bumrah is another choice with a good leadership record, but he probably won’t be playing in the first few IPL games because of an injury. That leaves Suryakumar Yadav, who is also the captain of the Indian T20I team. So, it’s likely that Suryakumar Yadav will captain MI in their opening match against CSK.
