Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya could be released by Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction after they had a horrible outing in IPL 2024, hinted former India captain Virender Sehwag.
The IPL 2025 mega auctions are set to take place later this year, and with all ten franchises free to keep their preferred players, MI could start the IPL without Rohit and Hardik following their disastrous performance for the franchise this season.
MI splurged INR 15 crores to trade in Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and the fans were happy for the all-rounder’s homecoming. But MI courted controversy after they decided to name Pandya captain, ending fan favorite Rohit Sharma’s reign as MI skipper after 10 years and winning five IPL titles for MI.
However, the performance of Hardik Pandya has been poor, to say the least. He scored 200 runs and took 11 wickets at an expensive economy. Rohit, on the other hand, started the IPL strong, hitting his second century, but quickly faded. Rohit’s slide has been so dramatic that the former MI captain’s performance has become a headache for Team India.
Only two names are certainties at this stage for MI: Virender Sehwag says MI will release Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya
And with both Rohit and Hardik battling bad form amid the whole captaincy transfer controversy, Sehwag believes the only two players MI can rely on right now for next year’s IPL.
“Tell me something. Having Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Aamir Khan in one film won’t guarantee a hit. Will it? You will have to perform, right?
“You need a good script. Similarly, all these big names will have to come together and perform on the ground. Rohit Sharma scored one century and MI lost. Where are the rest of the performances?” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“Ishan Kishan played the entire season and he couldn’t last beyond the Powerplay. Only two names are certainties at this stage for MI – Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. They will be the top two names retained. And if it then boils down to the third or 4th option, we will see,” he added.
Former India batter Manoj Tiwary backed Sehwag’s comments, urging the MI team management to consider Bumrah or SKY as their next captain.
Bumrah has captained India in a Test against England and three Twenty20 Internationals against Ireland, while Suryakumar was named captain in a T20I series against Australia and South Africa just after last year’s World Cup.
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