The speculations around Rohit Sharma’s future with Mumbai Indians ended on Thursday when the five-time champions retained him as one of their five retentions ahead of the mega auction later this month.
Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma are the five capped players retained by MI.
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Speaking about the road ahead for MI after a disastrous last-place finish in the 2024 season, when Hardik replaced Rohit as the team’s captain, the batting icon hoped that they would manage to put a good squad together at the auction and vowed to turn things around in the 2025 edition.
“With Mumbai, we have always tried maintaining a core group of players. Moving forward, I just feel that we can have a good auction and create a group of players who can be match-winners for us. We will put the right foot forward and bring the legacy back where it belongs,” said Rohit.
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“I have played so much cricket for Mumbai Indians. I am happy to be here. We haven’t had the best of the season in the last two or three years. But we are quite determined to change that. We will be looking forward to each other’s help. And hopefully, we can turn things around,” he added.
The national team’s skipper, who retired from T20Is after the T20 World Cup triumph in June this year, said the players who have represented the country should be preferred when it comes to retention by IPL franchises.
“The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. It’s a very tough one when you come into a fresh auction and you start retaining players,” said Rohit.
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‘Perfect spot for me’
The 37-year-old Rohit said having retired from the international arena in the shortest format, nothing could have been better for him than staying with a franchise where he has spent the most time in his IPL career.
“Mumbai Indians have a rich history of winning trophies, winning games out of unbelievable situations. Since I have retired from the (international) format, I think this is the perfect spot for me,” said the former MI captain.