Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has made a bold prediction ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. He believes that Rohit Sharma might not play for the Mumbai Indians in 2025 and also gave his opinion on the rumours surrounding Rishabh Pant’s move to Chennai Super Kings.
The Indian Premier League’s big auction is just around the corner and it’s fair to say that some big moves will be on the cards. One of the things on many minds is whether Rohit Sharma will continue to play for five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the league or not.
This is because there have been several reports that have suggested that Rohit Sharma will be going to the auction. He was dropped as captain of the team as Hardik Pandya was appointed as the leader, and this reportedly did not go down well with the India captain, who guided the team to five league titles.
It has been reported that other franchises have already approached Rohit Sharma and he could be put up for auction. As of now, there has been no clarity but it would not be a surprise if the signing goes through and reaches the auction table.
Aakash Chopra spoke about Rohit Sharma’s move to another team. He said that the batsman might not be with Mumbai Indians. Explaining this, he explained that the franchise has named Hardik Pandya as captain while looking towards the future, which they might consider in this auction. While speaking on the YouTube channel 2 Sloggers, he explained:
“I don’t have any personal information. I’m not aware of what’s going to happen. Rohit is no longer the captain of Mumbai Indians. I think he might not be in Mumbai Indians. I mean, he might choose to be there. He’s not the captain. I mean, in fact, he’s not the captain. And if Hardik was made the captain, it was done very carefully. And because of that, you might get trolled or criticised,” Aakash Chopra said.
“But the reasoning is not wrong. Because it could not have been done in this auction. So this had to be in the previous one. So that decision was made. They brought him in. They made him captain. The season has not been good.
“If Rohit was the captain, the season wouldn’t have always been good. That’s not the case either. They finished at number 8. So, I think Rohit might not be in Mumbai Indians this year. That’s just my understanding. Otherwise, if he plays, I don’t care,” Aakash Chopra said.
He also opined that Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav will remain with the franchise.
Logic doesn’t tell him to leave Delhi: Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant’s exit from Delhi Capitals
Aakash Chopra also spoke about the speculations surrounding Rishabh Pant’s move to Chennai Super Kings. He said logic does not tell him that he should leave and stressed that the ‘yellow army’ always stands by its players, highlighting that they will back Ruturaj Gaikwad.
“Again… speculation, what to comment on, to be honest. There has been no news yet, why is he leaving Delhi? Logic does not say that he should leave Delhi. And there is no evidence that they are not trigger-happy people in Chennai. If they have made Ruturaj the captain, then they will not just let him go. They are not like that,” Aakash Chopra said.
“Yes, he has done well. He has made runs as well. He has made runs, he has done well. Earlier he was just losing deliveries, now there is a guarantee of deliveries. Even Rishabh loses. So I don’t think that… I mean… He could go, for all we know. Who knows. You see, ultimately, what the player wants is very important in this auction,” concluded Aakash Chopra.
