RCB, LSG set their sights on Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma vs Hardik Pandya vs Suryakumar Yadav dilemma for IPL 2025: Report

Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness a mega auction ahead of the 2025 season, where most franchises will be looking for a new captain. Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders and even Sunrisers Hyderabad are happy with their incumbent options. However, the rest including Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants are likely to look for new captains in the upcoming auction, and they will have their eyes on Mumbai Indians’ retention list for the next season.

For RCB, LSG and even Delhi Capitals, who are reportedly keen to release Rishabh Pant for the 2025 season, their eyes will be on Mumbai Indians and whether they retain Rohit Sharma, who won the T20 World Cup for India, and Suryakumar Yadav, India’s new captain for the T20I format. Hardik, who moved to MI after a hugely successful stint with Gujarat Titans on a much-hyped all-cash deal before the start of the 2024 season, was expected to be retained as captain but recent developments will give Mumbai food for thought, especially since Suryakumar has beaten the all-rounder in the race to become India’s new T20I captain after Rohit’s retirement from the format last month.

Fans were seen hugging Rohit Hardik after he won the T20 World Cup last month and later acknowledging his all-round performance in the tournament in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium during the felicitation, after which the stadium erupted in chants of “Hardik, Hardik” which left the cricketer stunned. However, all is well between Rohit and Hardik now, which may have started after MI shockingly removed the veteran Indian season-opener from his captaincy in December to appoint Hardik as his successor. According to a report in Dainik Jagran, Rohit played as big a role in appointing Suryakumar as India’s new T20I captain as head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Rohit was earlier asked about his opinion on Gambhir replacing Dravid and he supported the decision. The former Indian batsman’s first major decision regarding his appointment was to appoint Suryakumar as T20I leader till the 2026 T20 World Cup.

There were also reports that Hardik received a ‘no trust’ vote from fellow players in the Indian camp, who were more confident in Suryakumar taking over the reins from Rohit in the T20I format. Hence the question, will MI be willing to give another year to Hardik, who replaced their most popular captain in acrimonious circumstances last year?

By leading the Indian team to the T20 World Cup title in Barbados, Rohit joined the elite club of MS Dhoni and Kapil Dev just a few months after being dumped by his IPL franchise. How MI handles their former captain will therefore play a major role as clubs like RCB and LSG look for a new captain for the 2025 season.

The five-time champions also have to worry about Suryakumar, who was reportedly on Rohit’s side when the MI camp was reportedly split into two teams. For Suryakumar to stay, MI may have to make an offer he can’t refuse. Moreover, as India captain, he could harbour ambitions to lead the IPL’s most popular franchise as well, or look for options elsewhere if none are offered. And then there’s Jasprit Bumrah, who also fancies the leadership role.

What will the Indians do in Mumbai?

The IPL Governing Council is yet to reveal how many retentions each franchise will get. If it is kept at four, one of which will be an overseas player, that would leave three Indian choices for teams, which would make life difficult for Mumbai Indians. It would then leave an option open for franchises like RCB, LSG and DC, who will be looking for Indian players as their captains.

RCB are also said to be considering KL Rahul, who could be sacked by the Lucknow-based franchise after a video of a heated exchange between LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka and the player during the last season went viral.