'End of an Era: Rohit Sharma parts ways with Mumbai Indians, Ex-India Opener predicts major IPL developments in 2025'

New Delhi: The bond between Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians is legendary, with the Hitman leading his beloved IPL franchise to 5 title victories. However, with the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction looming, there is uncertainty surrounding the Indian Captain's future with the team.

Last time, Hitman would have been the first choice as retention, no-brainer, but since Hardik Pandya was traded from Gujarat Titans and made the captain of MI, Rohit’s future looks uncertain.

Harbhajan Singh, who has previously shared the dressing room with Rohit feels that if the Hitman enters the IPL auction, being the captain of India, he’d spark a huge bidding war.

“It will be interesting to see whether he will be retained or not. If he goes into the auction pool, it will be fascinating to see which team bids for him. I’m sure many teams must be thinking along those lines,” Harbhajan told TOI.

“Rohit Sharma, as a leader and a player, is amazing. He’s a top-quality player, top-quality captain and leader. He is a proven match-winner. Even at 37, he still has a lot of cricket left in him. If Rohit enters the auction, he will fetch big bucks. It will be exciting to see the auction unfold,” the legendary spinner added.

After that, former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra felt that the unbreakable love bond story between Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians might be coming to an end because he doesn’t feel that Mumbai Indians will retain their former captain, who himself might get better offers elsewhere.

“Will he stay or will he go? It’s a big question. Personally, I feel he will not stay. Whoever is retained will be with the thinking that he will remain with you for three years unless your name is MS Dhoni,” said Aakash Chopra.

“MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings’ story is very different but Rohit Sharma at MI, I feel he might himself leave or MI might leave him. Anything can happen but I don’t think Rohit is going to be retained here. I don’t have any information but I feel Rohit will probably be released,” he added.

Aakash Chopra feels that Rohit Sharma could also be directly traded to one of the IPL teams, but the Hitman will not be playing for MI in IPL 2025.

“He might go to someone in the trade window, that’s a possibility that he doesn’t go to the auction, but if that doesn’t happen, he might be seen in the auction. I feel his journey with the Mumbai Indians is over,” said Aakash Chopra.