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Cricket PlayersRohit Sharma's first reaction after getting retained by Mumbai Indians for IPL 2025: 'Since I have retired…'
Rohit Sharma continues to be a Mumbai Indians player, being announced as one of the players retained by the franchise for IPL 2025.
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Rohit Sharma will continue to represent the Mumbai Indians, a team he has become synonymous with over the last 10 years and many successes in the Indian Premier League. Mi, the joint-most successful franchise managed to hang on to their former captain, despite some rumours that Rohit might look to move on from his hometown team in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction.
Rohit's future with the franchise was one of the hottest topics heading into the retention revelation following a controversial season with MI earlier this year. Removed as captain of the franchise last year, Rohit endured an off-season with the bat. Even though he ended up scoring 417 runs, including a century Chennai Super Kings, rumours of a potential rift with captain Hardik Pandya, the team's floundering fortunes pretty much made his departure certain. However, things changed when Rohit and Hardik buried the hatchet and led India to the T20 World Cup win.
Rohit reflected on the decision to remain in Mumbai and what it means to him as a native of the city and someone who has played some of his best cricket for the franchise.
"I have played so much cricket in Mumbai, this is the place where I started my cricket career. So this city is very, very special. Obviously, when you play for such a long time, you create so many memories with the team," said Rohit in the interview.
While he has been replaced by Hardik Pandya as captain, Rohit will continue to open for the franchise. While Rohit captained Mumbai to the IPL 2020 title, they haven’t had too much success in the years since. Rohit stated that he hopes to help edit their fortunes. "We haven’t had the best of the season in the last two or three years. But we are quite determined to change that."
‘That’s what I believe in…'
Rohit was retained at INR 16.30 crore by Mumbai, behind the trio of Jasprit Bumrah (18 crore), Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav (16.35 crore each). He is part of a terrific Indian core in Mumbai, with Tilak Varma also staying at the franchise. The IPL will be the only T20 matches Rohit will be involved in, having retired from T20 internationals following the World Cup success earlier this year. Reflecting on only being the fourth-highest earner for MI in the retention list, albeit by a relatively small amount, the Indian captain washed away any concerns about that being an issue.
"Since I have retired from the format, I think this is the perfect [retention] spot for me. The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That’s what I believe in and I am quite happy with it," said Rohit.
Bumrah, considered the best bowler in the format in the world, will be the highest-paid player for Mumbai ahead of the IPL auction.
