Hardik Pandya faced the wrath of home fans the last time he played an IPL match in Ahmedabad. As Mumbai Indians' (MI) captain in IPL 2024, he was met with boos when he took the field against Gujarat Titans (GT)—the very team he had led to a championship and consecutive finals before being traded. Now, as fate would have it, his first appearance in IPL 2025 will once again be against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

After missing MI’s season opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) due to an over-rate penalty carried over from last year, Pandya is set to return. His presence should add much-needed balance and experience to MI, which they seemed to lack against CSK.

Team Updates and Possible Playing XIs

How Will GT Utilize Washington Sundar?

Washington Sundar started on the bench in GT’s opening game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) but wasn’t required. Rashid Khan remains indispensable due to his experience, while R Sai Kishore impressed with a 3-for-30 performance. In the batting lineup, GT already has left-handers Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia, and Sherfane Rutherford, who was used as an Impact Sub against PBKS. Given these factors, Sundar might have to wait for his opportunity.

GT narrowly fell short of chasing 244 against PBKS, and despite their bowlers being taken apart, major changes seem unlikely.

Gujarat Titans (probable XI):

1. Shubman Gill (capt)

2. Sai Sudharsan

3. Jos Buttler (wk)

4. Sherfane Rutherford

5. Shahrukh Khan

6. Rahul Tewatia

7. Rashid Khan

8. Arshad Khan

9. R Sai Kishore

10. Kagiso Rabada

11. Mohammed Siraj

12. Prasidh Krishna

Mumbai Indians: Pandya’s Return the Only Change?

Against CSK, MI introduced left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur as an Impact Sub, replacing Rohit Sharma. Puthur impressed on debut with figures of 3 for 32. With Pandya’s return, MI is likely to replace Minz, while the all-round depth provided by Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar at Nos. 8 and 9 will be crucial on another batting-friendly surface.

Mumbai Indians (probable XI):

1. Rohit Sharma

2. Ryan Rickelton (wk)

3. Will Jacks

4. Suryakumar Yadav

5. Tilak Varma

6. Hardik Pandya (capt)

7. Naman Dhir

8. Mitchell Santner

9. Deepak Chahar

10. Trent Boult

11. Satyanarayana Raju

12. Vignesh Puthur