“Rohit is not going anywhere, nor will any player.” A senior official representing the Mumbai Indians made this unequivocal claim while attending the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
The remark was made exclusively to CricAdvisor following the social media frenzy surrounding reports of a virtual uprising among MI players following the replacement of captain Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya was appointed in his stead by the MI administration.
“The news reports are totally fake and false. No MI player will be leaving us, nor will be traded by us,” the official said after it was reported that senior players like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishan Kishan have all come out in support of Rohit and are looking to exit the franchise.
“Every player was taken into confidence before the decision was made. Rohit too was informed, and he is very much part of the decision-making process,” the official further said.
Certain players may seek trades to various franchises when the trade window reopens on Wednesday, according to some reports. The portal will remain open until 30 days prior to the commencement of the league, per IPL regulations. Rohit has information that franchises such as the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings are reportedly pursuing MI players.
CricAdvisor can corroborate that one of the aforementioned two franchises did make contact with Mumbai Indians regarding a possible trade for Rohit. However, MI declined the offer, as verified by the interested franchise itself on this website. “We would have done anything for Rohit,” the franchise representative told this website. “However, we are no longer in the running.”
Rohit had served as MI’s captain since 2023 and led the franchise to five championships. On the contrary, the team has performed poorly over the past two seasons and will finish last in 2022. It qualified for the playoffs the previous year.
An expert such as Sunil Gavaskar perceived the MI’s decision as rational. “We ought not to debate right and wrong. However, their decision is advantageous to the group as a whole. Even with the bat, Rohit’s contribution has diminished marginally over the past two years. “He used to score frequently in the past, but in the last two years, they qualified for the playoffs in the final year and finished ninth or tenth, respectively, after the previous year.” Gavaskar said in a Star Sports interview.
