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.
Notably, Rohit was sacked as captain by the MI management ahead of the IPL 2024 season. He was replaced by Hardik, who was traded in from Gujarat Titans.
No wonder, there have long been speculations that Rohit could leave MI ahead of the upcoming mega-auction, which even sparked reports that the likes of Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are keen to rope in the T20 World Cup-winning skipper.
Amid the rumours, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has insisted that Rohit Sharma should only feature in the IPL as a captain and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) must persuade him to take up the leadership role.
Meanwhile, RCB legend AB de Villiers laughed off the idea of Rohit coming to RCB, saying there was only 0.1 per cent chance of that happening.
“I almost laughed at the Rohit comment. That will be quite a story if Rohit moves from Mumbai Indians to RCB. Wow! Imagine the headlines. It will be bigger than Hardik Pandya's move. He moved from Gujarat Titans back to Mumbai, which although wasn't big a surprise. But if Rohit moves from Mumbai to join his rivals in RCB...oh my god! I don't think there is an option there. I don't see a possibility of MI leaving Rohit. I will give that zero or 0.1 per cent chance,” De Villiers said during a Q&A session with fans on his YouTube channel.
Some reports have claimed that RCB are looking for a new captain ahead of the upcoming mega-auction, with Faf du Plessis already turning 40 this July.
However, De Villiers backed his compatriot to continue as the leader and added that Virat Kohli will back Faf as well.
“Age is just a number, guys. I don't see why his turning 40 would be an issue. He has been there for a few seasons, and the players are used to him. I understand there has been pressure on him because he hasn't won the trophy for RCB, but he has been exceptional as a player. I think Virat will back him with all his experience,” he remarked.
