NEW DELHI: Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians have got tough choices to make ahead of mega auction later this year as their think-tank has a big task at hands to pick players for retention from a wide array of superstars.
While the new rules permit franchises to retain upto six players, it will put a big dent in their auction purse.
While there is Hardik Pandya — the captain, the side also has the five-time title-winner Rohit Sharma in their ranks along with star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.To go that, the franchise also has quite a few young stars including Ishan Kishan.
Amid all the chatter over retentions ahead of the auction, India captain Surya on Saturday cheekily evaded a query on his IPL captaincy ambitions.
During a presser ahead of the India vs Bangladesh first T20I, responding to a reporter’s query, Surya said ‘dekhte hain’ when asked about captaining in the IPL.
“Aapne googly daal diya aapne (laughs) (You put me in a spot with a wrong ‘un). Really enjoying this new role (as India captain). When I was playing under Rohit bhai’s captaincy in MI, I used to give my inputs whatever I felt at that time.
“For India also feeling good. I captained against Sri Lanka previously against Australia and South Africa also. I have learnt from other captains on how to take the team forward. Aage dekhte hain. Chalte rahta hain. Baaki aapko pata toh chal hee jayega ((Let’s see how it goes. Rest you will know in due course of time),” that was Surya’s witty response to the IPL leadership question.
In the last IPL, with Hardik as captain after Rohit was removed unceremoniously, there were reports of rift in the Mumbai Indians camp over the all-rounder’s leadership style. While the domestic players were reportedly favouring Rohit, overseas players backed Hardik.
In recent times, Surya’s stock has risen and now that he is leading the national team, it remains to be seen what Mumbai decide in the lead up to the IPL.
The five-time champions finished last in the league with Kolkata Knight Riders winning the title.