Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has been in the middle of a lot of chatter when it comes to his future in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The star batter lost his Mumbai Indians captaincy in 2024 as he was replaced by all-rounder Hardik Pandya. It marked the end of Rohit’s 10-year tenure as MI captain – a move that was not taken well by a section of the fans. MI went on to have a horrible season as they finished last in the points table and Hardik was even booed at the Wankhede Stadium. Ahead of the IPL auction for the 2025 season, multiple reports claim that Rohit can decide to join a new team and in that case, a massive bidding war is expected for one of the greats of the format.

Punjab Kings Head Of Cricket Development Sanjay Bangar said in a recent interaction that Rohit will surely be a much-coveted player for the majority of franchises and if he indeed comes to the auction, PBKS will surely go for him depending on how money that have in their kitty.

“It all depends on whether we have the money in our pockets. If Rohit comes in the auction, I certainly believe, he is going to go for a high price,” Bangar said in an interaction on the RAO Podcast.

Meanwhile, Rohit hailed his long-time opening partner Shikhar Dhawan following his international and domestic cricket retirement, calling him “The Ultimate Jatt”.

Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket on Saturday after an illustrious career that saw him flourish as a dependable and swashbuckling opener across all formats, most notably ODIs and during multi-nation 50-over tournaments.

Taking to X, Rohit shared a series of pictures with Shikhar, showing their rock-solid bond on and off the field. The ‘Hitman’ in his caption reflected on the times spent “sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field” and how having the left-hander by his side made his cricketing journey easier.

“From sharing rooms to sharing lifetime memories on the field. You always made my job easier from the other end. THE ULTIMATE JATT. @SDhawan25,” said the caption of Rohit’s Instagram post.

(With ANI inputs)

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar feels Virat Kohli could’ve continued leading the Test team for a longer period. Kohli stepped down as the Test captain of Team India in January 2022 following the side’s defeat to South Africa in the third and final Test, with the series ending 2-1 in favour of the Proteas. During his sever-year-long tenure as captain of the Test side, Kohli took the Indian team to new heights, including first-ever Test series win on Australia soil in 2018-19. It was due to his aggressive brand of cricket that made India the dominant force in the longest format of the game.

Bangar, who closely followed Kohli’s progress as captain and player, feels that the star batter could’ve continued to lead the team, but agreed that the captaincy pressure took a toll on his individual performances.

“Captaincy of the Indian team is a 24/7 job. Lot of on and off the field things happen like selection, non-selection and team performance. So, it does take a toll (on individual performances). Him giving up captaincy at that time means he is now playing with lesser responsibilities. Even though I personally feel he could have continued a bit longer as Test captain,” Bangar said on The Rao Podcast.

Bangar also recalled the time when Kohli was not scoring double centuries in Test, and confessed his failure to do so. Bangar also added that after making some slight tweaks to his name, Kohli managed to score five double tons in a season.

“It is humanly impossible to sustain at the level at which he was playing between 2014 and 2019. The dip had to come. When you play with that sort of passion he was scoring daddy hundreds. But he told me that he wasn’t scoring a double hundred. After a while he realised that there is a process to which he can make double hundreds and once he tasted that he made four or five in one season,” he added.

For the unversed, Kohli is India’s most successful Test captain, winning 40 of his 68 Tests.

In the overall list of Test captains, he is only behind legends Graeme Smith (53), Ricky Ponting (48), and Steve Waugh (41), respectively.

As India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was picked for the T20 World Cup 2024, not many people were in agreement, considering the poor form he showed in the Indian Premier League campaign. As Mumbai Indians finished bottom of the 10-team points table, Hardik’s performances as an all-rounder and a captain were questioned by many. However, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t think the selectors were wrong in picking the all-rounder for the T20 World Cup. In fact, Manjrekar highlighted Hardik’s exceptional record in World Cups to back his selection.

“I have been repeatedly saying, even before this match, if you see Hardik Pandya’s performances in World Cups, he played the all-rounder’s role very well in the 2019 World Cup, he had a main performance in the India-Pakistan match on the big stage, and see his performance with the bat in the semi-final India lost in Adelaide, he scored 60 runs at a strike rate of 190,” he said on Star Sports.

“What happened in the IPL was a slight temperamental issue because he was feeling the pressure from outside. The environment might not have been good. I am not at all surprised that he will feel slightly relaxed and relieved after donning India’s and not the Mumbai Indians’ blues. He has the ability and I am repeatedly saying that he is a big-match player,” the former India batter added.

Former India batter Sanjay Bangar also echoed Manjrekar’s sentiments, saying what Hardik did for Mumbai Indians shouldn’t be looked at as he plays for India in the T20 World Cup.

“You shouldn’t see what he has done earlier when he is playing for India. You should definitely see what he has done for India. His record in World Cup cricket is exceptional. Whether he is playing Test cricket, 50-over or 20-over format for India, he has given fantastic performances in all three formats,” he said.

“There was a phase in the middle for sure where he got injured and because of that he couldn’t play much, but whenever he comes, the Indian team’s balance becomes much better,” Bangar stated.