NEW DELHI:
Virender Sehwag
, known for his straightforward approach and candid opinions, shared his unfiltered thoughts on
Rohit Sharma
's future with the Mumbai Indians. The former India opener expressed his doubts about the likelihood of Rohit being retained by the franchise.
During a discussion with Cricbuzz on Saturday, Sehwag suggested that apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, no player in the MI dressing room could assure themselves of retention ahead of the mega auction next season.
This observation also raises questions about
Hardik Pandya
's position on the team.
"If you get Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan for one movie, it doesn't mean it will be a hit film. You have to perform. There has to be something in the script. Look at these big names...they all have to perform. Rohit scored one hundred and it was in a losing cause. In the remaining matches, when did he perform? Ishan Kishan has not gone beyond the powerplay the entire season. So the only two players who are certain are Bumrah and Suryakumar. If they have a third and a fourth, we'll see," he said.
Rohit's performance in this IPL season wasn't great, as he only managed 330 runs in 12 matches, with one century. However, a video circulating on social media shows Rohit expressing his deep affection for the franchise, likening it to a second home for him while talking to KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Though the noise in the video is not clear due to constant cheering by fans for Rohit in the background, he can be heard saying, "Ek ek cheez change ho raha hai...Woh unke upar hai...Jo bhi hai woh mera ghar hai bhai, woh temple jo hai na maine banwaya hai." The last audible line in the chat is "Bhai mera kya mera to ye last hai".
Though the rest of the conversation is not audible, fans were quick to react to it and speculated that Rohit was talking about the MI captaincy and some fans even alleged that KKR had deleted the video after uploading it on X.
Rohit and Nayar go back a long way from their Mumbai domestic cricket days and are good friends. Nayar is also credited with playing a big role in Rohit's comeback into the Indian team after 2011 ODI World Cup snub.
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