Why Mumbai Indians Won’t Have 2 Key Players for Their Opening Game of IPL 2025 vs CSK
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is just around the corner and as is often the case, Mumbai Indians (MI) will be one of the title contenders this time around. MI, however, suffered a rare league-stage exit last year, which was also Hardik Pandya’s first season as the skipper of the franchise. Mumbai Indians finished in 10th place in IPL 2024 with just four wins in 14 games.
The all-rounder too had a mediocre campaign on his sensational return to MI, scoring just 214 runs and taking 11 wickets. The five-time champions, though, would hope that their fortunes change this time under the former Gujarat Titans skipper. However, in what comes as a massive setback, Hardik along with pacer Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available for Mumbai Indians’ opening match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 23.
Why Mumbai Indians won’t have Hardik and Bumrah for CSK game
Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah will not be available for Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2025 opener against CSK due to different reasons. During MI’s last league game of IPL 2024 against Lucknow Super Giants, Hardik was handed a one-match ban and a fine of INR 30 lakh for a slow over-rate offence. That was MI’s third offence of the season, due to which the captain was suspended for one match.
Jasprit Bumrah, on the other hand, has not played competitive cricket since January this year. He sustained a back spasm during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney. He eventually missed the rest of the Test match, the home limited-overs series against England and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
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Bumrah is currently undergoing rehabilitation at Bengaluru’s BCCI Centre of Excellence but there is no official word on his possible return date. The Gujarat pacer is thus, likely to miss the initial few matches of the upcoming IPL.
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