Harbhajan Singh ’uncertain’ if Mumbai Indians will retain Rohit Sharma for IPL 2025, here’s why

With just a month left for the Indian Premiere League 2025 auctions to take place, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is one of the main players on whom all franchises will keep an eye. In the previous IPL season, Mumbai Indians handed over the captaincy to Hardik Pandya, who was transferred from Gujarat Titans.

Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, the Mumbai Indians lifted the IPL trophy five times. But after Hardik was appointed skipper and Rohit was sidelined, the fans did not appreciate this. Pandya was booed at the Wankhede Stadium, and MI finished rock bottom in the league stage.

This year, it could be a different situation for Pandya, as the all-rounder turned around his form and his standing with the fans by being an integral part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.

Former Mumbai Indians teammate Harbhajan Singh now firmly believes that if the Mumbai franchise does not retain Rohit, it will ignite a massive bidding war at the auction.

"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 on Thursday.

"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 former India offspinner also said.

Rohit's future at IPL 2025:

According to ex- India and KKR opener Aakash Chopra, Rohit's time with MI is over.

"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. 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," he said on his Youtube channel.

"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 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," the former KKR batter added.