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With suspense looming over the retention of players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the mega auction, a lot of questions surround which players will look for a new franchise and who will continue to stay with their previous one. Well, India Test and ODI skipper, Rohit Sharma’s future with the five-time champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) remains under doubts, the Head of Cricket Development with Punjab Kings (PBKS), Sanjay Bangar opened up on if the franchise will look to rope him.
Although, the former India all-rounder agreed that Rohit Sharma will trigger a bidding war if he is put in the IPL auction, he however, remained non-committal about whether the franchise will bid for him as he is set to fetch a big sum. Bangar also added that a lot of it will depend on what the retention rules are, but according to reports which have been doing rounds, the BCCI is set to allow five-to-six retentions.
We will have to wait and watch: Sanjay Bangar on Rohit Sharma
Speaking in The Rao Podcast, Bangar added that everyone will have to wait to see if Rohit Sharma enters the auction. "We will have to wait and watch (will Rohit head to the auction?). I played with Rohit at one point for the Deccan Chargers. From there, he has been a Mumbai boy. Yes, there was a change in direction as far as Mumbai Indians are concerned. But it all depends on the retentions, because that is a topic which is under consideration. Once there is clarity on the retentions, then we get to know the number of players. We need to know the players that are released by the teams. Only then we will know who will come into the auctions and which is the team that will run after a particular player," Sanjay Bangar said.
"It all depends on whether we have the money in our pocket. Because if Rohit comes into the auction, I certainly believe he is going to go for a very high price," Bangar said.
It is to be noted that Rohit Sharma has been the most successful captain of MI, helping them clinch the five titles before he was sacked of MI captaincy ahead of IPL 2024. Moreover, he continues to remain the most sought-after players in the IPL. Moreover, the MI as well as Rohit Sharma has not spoken about parting ways, it will be seen if the T20 World Cup winning captain would want to continue after the 2023 saga.
