The captain of Mumbai Indians, Hardik Pandya, will certainly miss the opening clash of Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings. But why will the star all-rounder and the skipper of Mumbai Indians miss the first match of the season? It is because of the slow over-rate offences made by Hardik Pandya in the previous season not once, but thrice. According to the code of conduct of IPL, if a skipper has three slow over-rate offences, the particular captain gets banned for the next match. However, the third offence for Hardik Pandya came in Mumbai Indians' last match of the season and hence, the ban got carried forward to next season of the IPL.As a result of this ban, Hardik Pandya is unlikely to appear for the first match of Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. The questions now arises is, who will lead Mumbai Indians in absence of Hardik Pandya in the El Classico match of the IPL against the Chennai Super Kings. Let's find out three possible captaincy options who could captain MI in their first match. Also Read | IPL 2025 Fixtures Announced: Get Ready for Non-Stop Cricket Action 3 Captaincy Options for MI if Hardik Misses CSK Clash Rohit Sharma There won't be any surprise if the management decides to appoint Rohit Sharma as the captain of Mumbai Indians against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk. Rohit Sharma has led the side for years and under his leadership, the franchise has won five IPL titles. Not just in IPL, but Sharma's leadership quality has helped India to get their hands on the T20 World Cup 2024 Trophy. He also led India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 where India performed exceptionally well. He is one of the greatest captains the game has ever seen and his legacy in the Indian Premier League is unmatchable. He has captained Mumbai Indians in 158 matches and has won 87 out of those matches. Suryakumar Yadav Suryakumar Yadav carries a lot of experience of playing in this league. Since his inclusion in Mumbai Indians' roster, the star Indian batter's fortune has turned around completely. Having given the opportunity to perform in the top, Suryakumar Yadav has achieved a lot in his career, one of those achievements is him leading India's T20I side after the retirement of Rohit Sharma. India's Mr. 360 has captained Mumbai Indians once in IPL 2023 against Kolkata Knight Riders. In that match, MI secured a 5-wicket victory by chasing 185 with 14 balls to go. Overall, in his T20 career, Suryakumar has won 18 matches out of 22 as a skipper. Also Read | 4 Captaincy Options for RR if Sanju Samson Misses IPL 2025 Jasprit Bumrah Next up in the list is India's most celebrated pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Though the fast bowler is currently recovering from an injury, which has also ruled him out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. However, he is expected to recover before IPL 2025 begins, and if the franchise does not go for the above-mentioned names, Bumrah could be a better option to lead the side. Jasprit Bumrah recently captained team India in couple of Tests against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Under his captaincy, Bumrah led India to victory in the 1st Test at Perth and he earned immense praise for his captaincy skills and tactics. If he gets the leadership in MI's opening match against CSK, he could showcase his leadership skills in the shorter format.