NEW DELHI: Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that five-time champions Mumbai Indians will retain Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav ahead of the 2025 IPL mega auction.
However, Harbhajan expressed uncertainty about the franchise retaining former captain Rohit Sharma. He emphasized, though, that if the team decides to retain a fourth player, it should undoubtedly be Rohit.
“Mumbai Indians is a team that hasn’t played well in the last two to three years. They’ve been a champion team, a very good team, and as far as I know, they will definitely think of building a team for the future. But that doesn’t mean they won’t add experienced players this year. Last year, they made Hardik Pandya captain, and I think he will definitely be retained. Jasprit Bumrah will be retained, Suryakumar Yadav will be retained, and the question remains whether Rohit Sharma will be retained,” Harbhajan Singh told Star Sports.
Rohit’s performance in the IPL 2024 season was far from impressive, scoring 417 runs across 14 matches. His average of 32.08 was largely due to a single innings of 105 runs against Chennai Super Kings.
Harbhajan believes that his recent success in leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup should be enough to secure his retention by the franchise. The veteran off-spinner also suggested that the team could consider retaining young talents such as Tilak Sharma or Nehal Wadhera.
“He has just won the World Cup as a captain, so I think he should be retained, and he will be. That will make four players, and if there’s a fifth player, then Tilak Varma will be retained,” said Harbhajan Singh.
“Tilak Varma is one of those players who will be very useful for Mumbai Indians in the future to win matches. When it comes to bowling, I don’t think there’s anyone else they would want to retain, so Nehal Wadhera could be a good option for them. He is an uncapped player, so he should be picked,” he added.
