Ambati Rayudu has come up with a fresh take on the idea of Rohit Sharma's potential move to Chennai Super Kings after Mumbai Indians decided to take captaincy off him and hand it to Hardik Pandya. Rayudu, himself a former MI player, sent the internet cricket fraternity into a meltdown on Monday when he wished to see Rohit move to CSK to enjoy the last phase of his IPL career. Rayudu backed Rohit to play for another 5-6 years, but in a yellow jersey, something which no one could have imagined until a few months ago.
Rohit has been the fulcrum of MI's success over the last 11 seasons. Outside of the five IPL trophies, Rohit helped build this team from the bottom and backed players like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya when they were raw. But with time, every franchise evolves and looks ahead with one eye on the future, and with MI, the management felt now was the right time for the baton to be handed to Hardik and usher the team into a new era.
But with Hardik, noise has grown around Rohit's future. He is the embodiment of once an MI, always an MI, but given his wife Ritika Sajdeh's Instagram activity and the fact that Rohit and Hardik are yet to be seen together within the MI camp or during practice adds a new dynamic. Whether Rohit makes that switch, only he knows, or at max, the franchise interested in. But Rayudu once again reminded that the door remains open if both parties come to an agreement.
"I said that it is my wish, or opinion. I never said that he will play at Chennai Super Kings. It is up to CSK and Rohit but at the end of the day, it's not so difficult to go from Mumbai to CSK. Harbhajan Singh did it, I have done it so the transition is quite smooth and CSK is a great team to play for. I am sure Rohit will have a great time in the last phase of his career if he does make the jump," Rayudu said on Star Sports.
Who all have made the switch from MI to CSK?
{{/usCountry}}"I said that it is my wish, or opinion. I never said that he will play at Chennai Super Kings. It is up to CSK and Rohit but at the end of the day, it's not so difficult to go from Mumbai to CSK. Harbhajan Singh did it, I have done it so the transition is quite smooth and CSK is a great team to play for. I am sure Rohit will have a great time in the last phase of his career if he does make the jump," Rayudu said on Star Sports.
Who all have made the switch from MI to CSK?
{{/usCountry}}Rayudu and Harbhajan Singh aren't the only players to have made the switch from MI to CSK. In fact, the first-ever to do it was Dwayne Bravo, who after spending two seasons with Mumbai, joined CSK ahead of IPL 2010 and went on to become their biggest superstar after MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina.
Karn Sharma and Dwayne Smith are two more players who jumped from MI to CSK and even though they didn't attain the same success, it showed that swapping the blue with yellow isn't as tough as it seems. Of course, the fan rivalry between MI and CSK is unprecedented, but when it comes to players, there has always been a healthy relation between the two franchises.
What do you think? Do you want to see Rohit join the Yellow Army and finish his IPL career there? What a sight it promises to be if the theory is to materialise.