“Rohit is not going anywhere, nor will any player.” On the fringes of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Dubai on Tuesday, a senior Mumbai Indians official made this unequivocal statement.
The comment was given exclusively to Cricbuzz following the social media explosion of news on the players’ virtual uprising in the MI camp following Rohit Sharma’s replacement as captain. In his place, Hardik Pandya was appointed by the MI management.
The press reports are completely untrue and fraudulent. The statement was made in response to reports that veteran players like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishan Kishan had shown their support for Rohit and were considering quitting the team. “No MI player will be leaving us, nor will we trade by us,” the official stated.
Before a decision was made, each player was given the benefit of the doubt. The insider went on to say that Rohit was also informed and actively involved in the decision-making process.
Certain players may want to be traded to different teams when the trade window opens on Wednesday, according to certain reports. According to IPL regulations, the window will remain open for 30 days before the league’s commencement. According to reports, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings are the teams wooing the MI players, including Rohit.
Even the interested franchise acknowledged to this website that one of the two teams listed above did approach the Mumbai Indians with an interest in trading for Rohit, but MI turned down the offer. This is corroborated by Cricbuzz. The franchise representative told this outlet, “We are no longer in the race, but we would have given anything for Rohit.”
As MI’s captain since 2013, Rohit has led the team to five championships. However, the squad has performed poorly over the past two years, placing last in 2022. Last year, it advanced to the playoffs.
An analyst such as Sunil Gavaskar saw logic in the MI ruling. “We shouldn’t discuss morality or wrongs. However, they made this choice with the team’s best interests in mind. Even with the bat, Rohit’s output has decreased slightly over the past two years. Although they finished No. 9 or No. 10 the year before last year and made the playoffs the last year, he used to score heavily in the past, according to Gavaskar.