April 10 (Punjab Khabarnama) : As of now, Rohit Sharma is Mumbai Indians royalty. However, what happens at the mega-auction later this year, no one knows. Removed from MI captaincy ahead of IPL 2024, there is no end to speculations surrounding Rohit’s future. Ambati Rayudu teased the idea of Rohit moving to Chennai Super Kings and ending his IPL career in yellow, whereas a switch to the Delhi Capitals has not been ruled out either according to users on X. Amidst all this, another franchise that seems excited at the prospect of signing Rohit – if the opportunity arises – is Lucknow Super Giants.
Justin Langer, was asked to name one player whom he would like to get on board, and as Rohit’s name was floated, the LSG coach could not keep calm. “One guys I want? Hmmm… if I could have anyone…. who do you think?” Langer asked the person taking his interview. As the interviewer weighed in: “We have most of our bases covered. But do you think you can get Rohit Sharma?”, Langer sported a beaming smile on his face.
“Rohit Sharma? Hahaha. We’re going to get him from Mumbai… Well, you better be the negotiator,” the coach said.
The IPL mega-auction will be held sometime later this year – preferably December – and a meeting involving the owners of all 10 franchises, has been scheduled for the 16th of this month. One of the hot topics of discussion is player retention, with the board considering extending the number. Ahead of the last mega-auction in 2022, franchises were allowed to retain a maximum number of 4 players with one Right-to-Match card. However, with the RTM factor dissolved, franchises are seeking stability, which may give them the leeway of retaining more than four players.
For MI, the three guaranteed names are captain Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, while the fourth could be determined with time. Rohit, a five-time IPL winning captain, has been the face of the franchise since 2013 – the year he led the team to its maiden title triumph – but whether MI persist with their former captain at the age of 37 remains to be seen. Rumours of friction between him and current captain Hardik were put to rest, with visuals of the two embracing each other multiple times during the course of the season emerging.
What next for Rohit Sharma?
Rohit, once a heavy scorer for MI, has been struggling for form over the last couple of seasons. In fact, IPL 2022 was statistically his worst season as he could only muster 268 runs. Last year, the numbers improved to 332 but it was far from the Rohit of old. Rohit and MI did just about enough to qualify for the Playoffs but were knocked out after losing the Eliminator. With MI not winning the IPL since 2020, the management felt a change in guard was needed, and thus, appointed Hardik, who took Gujarat Titans to two consecutive titles, as their captain.
Things seemed ok but when Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh dropped a bomb on Instagram where she indirectly denied coach Mark Boucher’s statements that Rohit was removed as captain to focus on his batting, all hell broke loose. Rest assured; franchise would be keen to sign Rohit. He has redesigned his T20 game with an all-out, slam-bang approach, once again becoming a force to reckon with. However, whether he chooses to remain with MI, or seek a new opportunity at this stage of his career is a question only time can answer.
Langer for one, is pretty chuffed at the idea.
