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The IPL Governing Council has announced the retention rules but the franchises are yet to roll out the list of players they will hold back for the next season. While the deadline to submit the list of retained players is October 31, the fans are experts have already begun predicting the possible scenarios at the mega auction which is slated to be held later this year.
One that is being highly talked about is Rohit Sharma who was replaced by Hardik Pandya as the captain of Mumbai Indians last season. As the tournament progressed, a video of his conversation with former Kolkata Knight Rider batting coach caused quite a stir with fans speculating his exit from the franchise in the upcoming edition of the cash-rich tournament. Given the fact that Rohit has retired from the T20Is, the fans would be excited to see him in the IPL.
Meanwhile, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that if Rohit goes into the auction, the Mumbai star shall spark an intense 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 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,” he added.
Recently, former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star AB de Villiers had his say on the same topic. Replying to a fan’s query during a live session on his YouTube channel, the ex-South Africa captain said if Rohit moves to RCB then it will be a bigger story than Hardik joining MI from Gujarat Titans last year in an all-cash trade deal.
“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 the Gujarat Titans back to Mumbai, which although wasn’t a big surprise. But if Rohit moves from Mumbai to join his rivals in RCB…oh my god!” De Villiers said during a live Q&A session on YouTube.
