Former India captain Anil Kumble feels Mumbai Indians (MI) icon Rohit Sharma might leave the franchise after the five-time champions finished bottom in the points table in this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kumble feels other teams might be looking at Rohit as their captain next season, with mega auction to follow, and the opening batter might be tempted to begin a new chapter, having been replaced as the skipper by Hardik Pandya this season. MI lost to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday, ending their campaign with just 10 points and a wooden spoon.
Analysing their season, Kumble spoke in details about Rohit, as well as star players like Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav. With the mega auction set to take place before the next season, Kumble suggested that the trio might move away from MI.
"Let's be fair. I'm sure there'd be a conversation, which is not going to be easy. Ideally, that conversation needs to happen after the World Cup. You don't know whether Rohit will remain with MI; I'm sure he would want to go out. Teams will look for captains too. Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav are leadership materials, too. Bumrah has captained India. Even if the franchises want to keep them, the ball remains with the players. It all depends on how they are going to go about," Kumble said on Jio Cinema.
Even before the start of the season, MI fans have expressed their displeasure over Hardik's appointment as captain.
Hardik had arrived at MI this season with a great pedigree, having led Gujarat Titans for two seasons.
In GT's first-ever season in the IPL in 2022, Hardik led them to the title, followed by runners-up finish last season after a loss to CSK in the final.
Rohit, on the other hand, needs no introduction. He is one of the two players to win the IPL six times, alongside Ambati Rayudu. He also led MI to five IPL titlles, including back-to-back triumphs in 2019 and 2020.
Rohit has been under the radar of a few teams, who might be looking him as their captain for the next season.
However, MI head coach recently revealed that Rohit is currently focused on winning the T20 World Cup for India.