IPL 2025: ‘Rohit Sharma should be retained…’, says THIS former captain of Mumbai Indians
One of the big debates ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction next month is whether former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma will continue at the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise. There was speculation since the start of IPL 2024 edition that all was not well in the MI camp after all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned from Gujarat Titans (GT) and took over the captaincy reins from Rohit.
With MI finishing at last place in IPL 2024 and Hardik getting booed in almost every match of the T20 league earlier this, the social media was abuzz that Rohit may well decide to end his long and fruitful association with the franchise. However, former MI captain and Team India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that Rohit Sharma will be retained by the team since he has led the Indian cricket team to the T20 World Cup 2024 title this year.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports about the potential IPL retentions for Mumbai Indians, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh said, “Mumbai Indians is a team that hasn’t played well in the last two to three years. They’ve been a champion team, a very good team, and as far as I know, they will definitely think of building a team for the future. But that doesn’t mean they won’t add experienced players this year.”
“Last year, they made Hardik Pandya captain, and I think he will definitely be retained. Jasprit Bumrah will be retained, Suryakumar Yadav will be retained, and the question remains whether Rohit Sharma will be retained. He has just won the World Cup as a captain, so I think he should be retained, and he will be. That will make four players, and if there’s a fifth player, then Tilak Varma will be retained,” Harbhajan added.
Bhajji was the first-ever captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise and was their first skipper to bring home a trophy. MI under the captaincy of Harbhajan Singh had won the 2011 Champions League title.
“Tilak Varma is one of those players who will be very useful for Mumbai Indians in the future to win matches. When it comes to bowling, I don’t think there’s anyone else they would want to retain, so Nehal Wadhera could be a good option for them. He is an uncapped player, so he should be picked,” Harbhajan felt.
Meanwhile, former Australia all-rounder and Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody was asked about the potential retention targets for Punjab Kings. Moody felt that PBKS should not be retaining any ‘capped’ players ahead of the mega auction.
“For Punjab Kings, I don’t think I would retain any players, certainly not capped players, but I’d be looking to use the right-to-match option for players like Arshdeep Singh, Sam Curran, and Rabada. Jitesh Sharma is another one I’d consider using the right-to-match for in the auction. When it comes to uncapped players, there are a couple of good players I’d like to secure before the auction: Shashank Singh, who is a solid middle-order power hitter and had a great season last year, and Harpreet Brar, the left-arm spinner,” Moody said.