Chennai, March 22: The El Clasico of Indian Premier League (IPL) between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will return as the two most successful franchises lock horns in their opening match of the 2025 season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

With CSK relying on their formidable spin attack and MI missing key players, the home side will start as slight favourites in a contest that could set the tone for both teams’ campaigns.

Five-time IPL champions CSK have built their squad with a clear focus on maximising their advantage in spin-friendly conditions at Chepauk. They strengthened their spin department in last year’s mega auction by acquiring Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Shreyas Gopal and Deepak Hooda, adding to the experience of Ravindra Jadeja.

With these reinforcements, CSK’s strategy to choke opposition batters on slow, turning tracks could be crucial against MI’s power-packed batting line-up.

At the center of it all will be MS Dhoni, whose presence remains a source of inspiration for CSK fans. The veteran keeper-batter, who has been with the franchise since the IPL’s inception, will once again play a key role both behind the stumps and in guiding his bowlers tactically.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, will be without their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who continues to recover from a back injury. His absence, particularly in the death overs, could leave MI vulnerable against CSK’s aggressive middle order.

Adding to their concerns, regular captain Hardik Pandya is also unavailable for this match due to a one-game suspension for a slow over-rate violation in the previous season. In his absence, India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav will lead MI in a crucial away fixture.

CSK will also have a decision to make regarding their opening pair. One of New Zealand’s dynamic batters, either Rachin Ravindra or Devon Conway, is expected to partner captain Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top. Their middle order features a strong Indian core in Rahul Tripathi, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar and Deepak Hooda while Dhoni and Jadeja will provide the finishing touch.

For MI, they will rely on an explosive top order featuring Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar and Tilak Varma. The departure of Ishan Kishan has left a void, but the South African wicketkeeper-batter Rickelton has the firepower to fill that role.

MI’s bowling attack is yet to be at full strength. While they boast experienced pacers like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Reece Topley, the team will have to carefully manage their resources in the absence of Bumrah. The presence of all-rounder Corbin Bosch could offer some flexibility, while former CSK spinner Mitchell Santner’s familiarity with Chepauk conditions might prove useful.

CSK have dominated MI in recent meetings, winning four of their last five encounters, including three consecutive victories. Mumbai will be eager to turn things around after finishing at the bottom of the table last season, a campaign marred by Hardik’s appointment as captain over Rohit Sharma.

The match will also offer a first glimpse at how the new ball-change rule in the second innings influences team strategies. With CSK banking on spin and MI dealing with key absences, the Chepauk showdown promises an intriguing battle between two IPL heavyweights looking to start their season on a winning note.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi (wk), C Andre Siddharth, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana.

Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.

When: Sunday, March 23

Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Broadcast: The match will be televised live on the Star Sports Network.

Streaming: The match will be live streamed on JioHotstar app and website.

New Chandigarh, March 22: Punjab Kings’ new head coach Ricky Ponting is all pumped up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and shared his thoughts for the season including building the best-ever team in the franchise’s history to lift their maiden title.

In his latest conversation with meta creators at New PCA stadium in New Chandigarh, the Australian World Cup-winning captain looked quite confident of the new squad built in this season’s auction and is backing them to lift the trophy this year.

“The overall vision for this team is to win the IPL. I told the guys on the very first day when I joined the camp in Dharamshala that we were going to create and become the greatest Punjab Kings team that’s played. That’s the journey that we’re on and that doesn’t happen overnight. You’ve got to create that,” said the former Australian captain.

Explaining the winning mindset he is trying to bring to the team, Ponting added, “Winning is really an attitude thing. If we turn up to play, the opposition turns up to play, if they want to beat us, then it feels like they’re taking something away and I don’t want to let anyone take anything away from me or take anything away from my team.”

Additionally, the new head coach believes that the team has the right balance of young and experienced players, which will be another key factor in ensuring their success in the tournament.

Revealing the youngsters who have already impressed him in practice, Ricky said, “Priyansh Arya, I think is a very special potential opening batsman for us going forward in the tournament. Depending on which way we go with our overseas make-up, he’s very exciting. Suryansh Shedge is also someone who has been very impressive in our training so far.”

“When I talk about energy and fun, another player that I am impressed with, is Musheer Khan. He’s brought a lot to the group already. He has got an infectious attitude, and around the training ground and around the team so far, he’s been someone that I’ve really enjoyed working with,” he added.

He further revealed how he banks on the overseas experienced players to set the right example for youngsters as the latter looks up to them. “I put a lot of the bait on them to ensure that they’re setting the right example. Because a lot of the young domestic Indian players look up to the overseas boys and if the overseas boys aren’t doing the right thing, then it’s easy for the young Indian guys to not do the right thing either. So I empower the overseas guys to be the leaders and lead the way,” he said.

Punjab Kings will begin their season against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 25. After another away game against Lucknow Super Giants, they will be back to their home ground, to play two home games against Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.

New Delhi, March 21: Mark Boucher, the former South Africa cricketer who served as Mumbai Indians head coach in last two seasons of the IPL, said the side always looks a lot better when Jasprit is there, adding that his absence for the initial matches of IPL 2025 isn’t a great sign for them.

Bumrah is currently undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (formerly the National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru for a lower back injury which prevented him from bowling in the second innings of fifth Test at Sydney. Since then, Bumrah has been out of action and even missed India’s triumphant Champions Trophy campaign.

“Mumbai Indians without Jasprit Bumrah is straight away not a good thing. He’s probably the world’s best T20 bowler, and the fact that he can bowl in the powerplay and the death overs makes him a match winner in his own rights. Mumbai Indians with Jasprit Bumrah are always going to be a lot better team.

“I would love to have had Jasprit Bumrah in my first season (when he missed IPL 2023 due to back injury). I think that if we had him, I’ve got no doubt that we could have been title contenders. We got to the third position, but, I mean, he’s the world’s best bowler, so any team without Jasprit Bumrah is well, not going to be as good a team as with him in it,” said Boucher, a JioStar expert, to media in a virtual interaction prior to the 18th edition of the tournament.

Bumrah has picked up 165 wickets in 133 matches for MI in the IPL, and Boucher thinks his absence will lead to MI rejigging their bowling plans and four overseas players equation, with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar becoming key figures.

“The fact that he’s not available brings a guy like Trent Boult into the equation where he’s going to have to probably lead the attack. Deepak Chahar as well is a new selection for Mumbai Indians, so I think he’s going to play a massive role as well.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how they start the competition with regard to the international players and what their splits are going to be. Are they going to play an extra batter or are they going to boost their bowling with internationals as well? It’s going to be interesting to see what they go in with.

“There is no cover for Jasprit Bumrah, as it just depends on what they want to do with regards to the internationals. So they’re definitely going to play Trent Boult and I know that they probably want to play Santner as well. Do they push Reece Topley into the equation? That might be at the expense of a batter up front,” he said.

Boucher also predicted Bumrah’s absence will impact the look of who opens alongside Rohit Sharma. “I think it might change throughout the whole competition, as they’ve got Indian batters to go up front. A guy like Robin Mintz, I think he can bat up front, and they’ve got that option.

“If they feel that they want to maybe put another Indian as a bowler, then they can go with Ryan Rickleton and have also got Will Jacks. So I think they’ve got plenty options. I’m really interested to see if they play Robin Minz, as he’s an unknown entity. You’ve got Naman Dhir as well, as he can also open the batting.

“Ryan Rickleton, though, will be fantastic from a bowling standpoint. Will Jacks has done really well. But as I said, I think it’s all about the options. If they want to strengthen their bowling with the internationals, then that might be at the expense of one of the opening batters,” he concluded.