Kaif insisted that Rohit should only feature in the IPL as a captain.
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, all teams are set to undergo a major overhaul as mega-auction will take place later this year.
Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most talked about franchise as they have Suryakumar Yadav – India’s current T20I captain, Rohit Sharma - the T20 World Cup winning skipper, Hardik Pandya - their designated captain, and senior fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks.
It would be interesting to see if MI decide to retain all the star players or let someone go. Amid the speculations, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has insisted that Rohit should only feature in the IPL as a captain.
With MI unbale to offer that role, Kaif wants Rohit to leave the franchise. Notably, Rohit was sacked as captain by the franchise management ahead of the IPL 2024 season, replacing him with Hardik, who was traded in from Gujarat Titans.
"Rohit Sharma should only play as a captain. He is such a big player and recently led India to T20 World Cup win. He will surely have offers. I know because people must have been ringing him up with offers. But I feel he should only take up the captaincy role in whichever franchise he goes. And Rohit Sharma should leave. He has just 2-3 years left in his IPL career, and those years should be spent as a captain because of what he can do on the field; very few people have that ability," Kaif said in a conversation with Star Sports.
Not long ago, rumours were rife on social media that Lucknow Super Giant are ready to offer a staggering Rs 50 crore to Rohit Sharma in order to acquire his services. Punjab Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals are also teams that in search of a captain ahead of the auction.
However, Kaif urged Royal Challengers Bengaluru to step up and persuade Rohit to lead their side in IPL 2025.
"RCB should take that chance, 100 per cent, by hook or by crook, they must convince him to take up captaincy. Rohit knows very well how to form an XI so RCB will have the advantage if he is picked and probably their trophy drought could also end," he remarked.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has unveiled retention rules for the IPL 2025 season. Each of the 10 IPL teams can retain up to six cricketers, with no restriction on nationality and including one uncapped cricketer. Besides, the Right to Match (RTM) card option has been reintroduced.
The first three retentions will see the auction purse - finalised at Rs 120 crore for a team - being reduced by Rs 18 crore, Rs 14 crore and Rs 11 crore, respectively. However, the two other additional retentions will cost more than the third. The fourth and the fifth retentions will see a reduction of Rs 18 crore and Rs 14 crore, respectively.
It means a team will see its auction purse reduced by a whopping Rs 75 crore on five players, with only Rs 45 crore left in its kitty for the IPL auction.