Question remains whether Rohit Sharma will be retained: Harbhajan Singh

Mumbai Indians are one of the most discussed franchises leading to the IPL Retention Day on October 31. In the last three years, the five-time champions finished twice at the bottom of the table and that has upset the team owners. Last year, they removed Rohit Sharma as captain and brought in Hardik Pandya but that move failed as well. Since then, there have been a lot of discussions regarding Rohit’s future in Mumbai but the franchise hasn’t commented anything on it.

In the meantime, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh analysed Mumbai’s possible retentions for IPL 2025 and noted that Rohit getting retained isn’t certain. He believes that the franchise will surely retain Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav but the spinner isn’t very sure about Rohit. He also believes that whatever Mumbai decides, it will be an indication about their thought process for the future.

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“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,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.

“Jasprit Bumrah will be retained, Suryakumar Yadav will be retained, and the question remains whether Rohit Sharma will be retained,” the 44-year-old added.

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However, he reminded MI that Rohit recently won a World Cup as captain and for the same reason, they should retain the player. Apart from that, Harbhajan believes that the franchise can look at Tilak Varma as one of the options and Nehal Wadhera in the uncapped category.

“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.