Indian T20 captain and batting sensation Suryakumar Yadav willl lead Mumbai Indians in their opening match against Chennai Super Kings in the absence of regular skipper Hardik Pandya.

Hardik will be opening the clash in Chennai as he will serve the one-match ban imposed on him last season due to a slow over-rate

Hardik confirmed the development during a pre-season press conference.

Head coach Mahela Jayawardene also attended the event.

Hardik Pandya was quoted as saying by the media: "He will lead Mumbai Indians in the first match."

Surya is the captain of the Indian national team and under his leadership, the Men in Blue beat England in a recently played series on home soil.

He was appointed as the skipper of the national side after Rohit Sharma quit the format following T20 World Cup victory in West Indies last year.

This is the first IPL season following India's T20 World Cup victory last year in West Indies after a gap of 17 years.

India had last won the T20 World Cup in 2007 under MS Dhoni's leadership.

It was the inaugural edition of the T20 tournament.

Indian stars like Rohit Sharma are now assembling in India to play the IPL season following CHampions Trophy triumph.