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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has returned from a one-match suspension to face his former franchise, Gujarat Titans (GT), at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, March 29. The all-rounder missed MI's 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) away from home.
Pandya had to miss the clash against arch-rivals CSK because he had to serve a one-match ban before being eligible to play. He had copped the ban after being guilty of maintaining a slow over rate thrice during the 2024 IPL season. While the first two offenses led to a fine, the third instance led to a suspension.
Since MI failed to bowl their overs within the cut-off time during their final league stage match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium, Pandya's one-match ban was carried forward to the 2025 season. In his absence, Suryakumar Tadav had led MI in Chepauk, where they kickstarted their season with a defeat.
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Pandya had played for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2022 and 2023, after being released by MI after the 2021 season. The all-rounder led GT to the title in their first-ever season, and to the final in the 2023 edition.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya opts to bowl first after winning the toss
Pandya was met with a much kinder reception by the Ahmedabad crowd at the toss as he opted to bowl first after winning the toss. With the all-rounder's return to the playing XI, MI have had to tweak their playing XI from the four-wicket loss to CSK earlier.
"We will bowl first. Simple reason. We are not sure how it is going to play. Plus, the dew is a factor. The last time, we played on the black soil. Before that we played on the red soil. Both play a lot different. The red soil offers a lot more for the bowlers. Let's see how this one plays. The mood is positive. I come back, rest it is tough to remember the team with this XII," Pandya said during the toss.
Hardik Pandya has replaced Robin Minz in the playing XI as Ryan Rickelton will keep the gloves. Moreover, Will Jacks also makes way for Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, who features as the second spinner alongside Mitchell Santner.
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