Leg and off: Should Mumbai Indians retain Rohit Sharma for IPL 2025?
Rohit Sharma's future with the Mumbai Indians (MI) hung by a thread after an eventful 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. An unexpected shove from captaincy complicated things, while his steep age and recent T20I retirement emerge as complicated variables in a simple equation of whether Rohit will play for MI or not in the future.
The old retention rules might have made the prospect of MI keeping hold of Rohit Sharma quite tricky since the big three of Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya are seemingly destined for the higher retention slabs.
However, with the teams now having the provision of retaining five players, with an increase in the slab amount as well, there might still be a little bit of room to maneuver for the franchise, if they come to an agreement with the player.
As with everything, there are always two ways to look at things, and MI need to look at both the angles, before they come to a decision regarding Rohit Sharma's future, for it could be make or break.
MI's rebuild will take a huge hit if they retain Rohit Sharma
Although the number of retentions have been increased, it has in no way eased the plight of the franchises who wanted such a provision in the first place. The earlier retention slab of four, taking the uncapped player retention slab out of the equation cost 40 crore INR against a total purse of INR 80-90 crore.
However, now if a franchise chooses to retain five frontline players and the mandatory uncapped player, then they will have to shell out a lot more. The league has provided a limit of 79 crore INR to finalize the retentions, and MI with a star-studded squad are bound to hit that, especially if Rohit Sharma is retained.
This only leaves MI with 41 crore to forge the remainder of their squad. It is up to MI to decide what to prioritize - the core or the balance. Because with the current auction rules, it is hard to have both, you have to sacrifice one of them.
There is the added question of how much Rohit Sharma - the player, can contribute in the twilight of his career. He recently said that his from T20Is was solely down to the 2024 T20 World Cup title win, and he is still very much capable of playing the format.
While the statement holds true when his intent in ODIs and Tests is considered, but his recent IPL campaigns state otherwise. He has crossed the 400-run mark for the season only once since 2019. Although he breached the mark in the 2024 season, and boasted a strike rate of 150 (a massive improvement over his average figure of 126 in the last five seasons), he was dismissed in single figures in five matches.
Being ultra-aggressive comes with its own set of perils, but if Mumbai Indians can get a more reliable, younger, option for a more reasonable fee, then that might just be the way to go. The money that they save on this switch can be used to bolster other departments of the squad too.
MI need stability and an 'emotional' core to connect with the fans more than ever
Although the numbers and logic creates doubt over Rohit's retention and how it could adversely affect MI in the big picture point of view, in the eyes of their fans, he is their number one retention.
Letting go of Rohit could lead to a massive backlash, and the question is can MI sustain yet another fallout with the fans, that too across consecutive seasons. The fans did not take Rohit being sacked as captain well, and the constant tension and unrest between the team and the fans played a huge role in their misfortunes.
From another perspective, in the modern T20 game, inclusive of the impact player , brute aggression is the only way to go. In such cases, having an experienced campaigner who lives and dies by such an approach might be more than handy.
Despite not being the captain, the influence he holds in the dressing room, and the connection he has with the fans, almost make him an indispensable asset, irrespective of the retention rules and age.
Using the RTM on a player like Rohit Sharma showcases a lack of faith and disrespect
If there is no place for Rohit Sharma in the retention list, and MI do not want to losehis services, the sole option remaining is the Right-To-Match provision, which makes a return in the mega auction after being a glaring absence in 2022.
A suggestion that was put forward by Tom Moody while speaking for ESPN Cricinfo was MI buying back Rohit Sharma with the RTM option. However, the RTM is not a sure-shot option like it was before, since the rival bidder has the option of launching one last counterbid.
If that ends up being too steep for MI, which might be the case since they are going retention-heavy anyway, they lose out on Rohit Sharma on the auction floor rather than away from the spotlight.
From an emotional connection point of view, Releasing a legend like Rohit Sharma into the auction pool, in the hopes of RTM working out can be perceived as disrespectful. Sharma has done far too much for the franchise to not be dangled, or a last-resort option.
As a result, that cannot be even an option for MI, it is either all in for a final dance or the end of the road as far as their bond is concerned.
To conclude, speculation and prediction can only shed light on one part of the situation. In this particular case, a lot depends on whether Rohit Sharma wants to continue with MI as a pure 'player'. If there are lucrative leadership opportunities available in other franchises, it could present itself as a new challenge, something which Rohit could well pursue to make his twilight more interesting, and ride with purpose, for loyalty in the modern day ironically has an expiry.