Mumbai, Oct 29; Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has raised doubts over Rohit Sharma’s retention by Mumbai Indians ahead of the India Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction later this year. However, the spinner, who has won three IPL titles under Rohit’s captaincy for Mumbai, feels that the opening batter will be retained after winning the T20 World Cup 2024.Other than Rohit, the veteran cricketer believes captain Hardik Pandya, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, batter Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma will be retained by the franchise to keep their core group intact before the mega auction.
“Mumbai Indians is a team that hasn’t played well in the last two to three years. They’ve been a champion team, a very good team, and as far as I know, they will definitely think of building a team for the future. But that doesn’t mean they won’t add experienced players this year. Last year, they made Hardik Pandya captain, and I think he will definitely be retained. Jasprit Bumrah will be retained, Suryakumar Yadav will be retained, and the question remains whether Rohit Sharma will be retained,” Harbhajan told Star Sports about the potential IPL retentions for Mumbai Indians.
The 44-year-old picked Nehal Wadhera as Mumbai’s final pick under the uncapped category to complete their six retentions before the deadline of October 31.
“He has just won the World Cup as a captain, so I think he should be retained, and he will be. That will make four players, and if there’s a fifth player, then Tilak Varma will be retained. Tilak Varma is one of those players who will be very useful for Mumbai Indians in the future to win matches. When it comes to bowling, I don’t think there’s anyone else they would want to retain, so Nehal Wadhera could be a good option for them. He is an uncapped player, so he should be picked,” he added.
In the IPL 2024, five-time champions Mumbai Indians finished at the bottom of the table under Pandya’s captaincy. They won just four games out of 14 league stage fixtures and stayed at the bottom half of the table throughout the season.