The former opening batter of the Indian side, Aakash Chopra, felt that the five-time champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mumbai Indians, had done an excellent job with their retentions before the mega auction of the 2025 edition. He hailed how the current T20I captain of the national side, Suryakumar Yadav, kept his ego aside and prepared to play under Hardik Pandya.
The Mumbai Indians have retained the premier pacer of India, Jasprit Bumrah, as the first member of the list for a price of INR 18 crore. Both Suryakumar and Hardik are going to bag INR 16.35 crore apiece, while Rohit Sharma and Tilak Verma will stay for INR 16.30 crore and INR 8 crore, respectively.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra lauded the management of the Mumbai Indians for keeping their core players in the squad.
“What they have managed is an outstanding thing because Jasprit Bumrah would have taken 25 crores had he gone into the auction. If he had told any franchise that he wants 25 crores, anyone would have given him 25 crores, and I am pretty sure the other franchises would have approached him as well.” The Delhi batter noted in the video.
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The most successful captain of the Mumbai franchise, Rohit, is their leading run-scorer with 5731 runs in 217 innings at an average of under 30 and a strike rate of over 130 with the help of 36 half-centuries and a couple of centuries at a best score of unbeaten 109 runs.
Suryakumar is third on the list with 3033 runs in 96 innings at an average of 35.26 and a strike rate of nearly 150, shouldering on 23 half-centuries and two centuries.
“They would have approached him and Suryakumar Yadav as well because he is not even the captain. Hardik (Pandya) is the captain, and Suryakumar Yadav is the captain of the Indian T20I team. So, there is no ego. He is ready to play for this franchise and 16.35 crores. He too would have got 25 crores if he had said he wanted to go to the auction and some other team’s captaincy, as well.” Aakash Chopra added in the interaction.
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah is the second-highest wicket-taker of the franchise with 168 scalps in 136 innings at an average of 22.61 a strike rate of 18.55, and an economy rate of 7.31 with a best bowling figure of 5/10.
Aakash Chopra highlights the retentions of Mumbai Indians for IPL 2025
In the same video, Aakash Chopra mentioned how Hardik potentially deserved a bigger sum, but it was Rohit, who willingly took a pay cut. Notably, Virat Kohli has been retained for INR 21 crore by the RCB side, while South Africa’s Heinrich Klassen has bagged INR 23 crore.
“Hardik Pandya had to stay, there is no doubt about that, but again 16.35 crores when Heinrich Klassen has taken 23 crores. Then you start feeling that Klassen is at 23 crores, Ruturaj (Gaikwad) is at 18 crores, and he is only at 16 crores. Rohit Sharma has taken a slight pay cut. 16.30 crore- he has taken a pay cut of five lakhs.” The renowned commentator explained.
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“He said that he is taking a pay cut because he has retired from this format. It’s symbolic, but one is India’s captain and the other is this team’s captain, so they deserve to get a little more. Tilak Varma at eight crores is a steal because he would have been sold for 12-15 crores had he gone into the auction.” Aakash Chopra concluded.
He opined that five of the Mumbai Indians’ players, who are worth INR 100 crore, have eaten up INR 25 crore less money for retention before the mega auction on November 24 and 25.