Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels Mumbai Indians batter Rohit Sharma might end up joining Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). There has been a lot of chatter surrounding Rohit’s future as MI after the franchise removed him as captain, with Hardik Pandya taking charge of the team. Fans have not been happy with the franchise for replacing Rohit with Hardik, who has been booed everywhere he has played so far this season, including the home fans.
While there have been rumours that Rohit might be released by MI ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025, Vaughan feels CSK could be the likely destination Rohit.
“Will he (Rohit Sharma) go to Chennai? Replace Dhoni? Gaikwad is doing it (the captaincy) this year, and it might be just (an act of) holding position for Rohit next year. I see him in Chennai,” Vaughan said on BeerBiceps podcast.
For the unversed, CSK also saw a leadership change with MS Dhoni handing the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The host of the show, however, felt that Rohit joining CSK would be “heartbreaking” for the MI fans.
The host of the podcast replied, saying: “That’d be heartbreaking, honestly. For MI fans, that’d be terrible. I wouldn’t mind him going to (Sunrisers) Hyderabad; he played for Deccan Chargers, so that would be romantic.”
Speaking on the captaincy drama at MI, Vaughan threw his weight behind Hardik, but suggested that Rohit should have been the captain of the franchise.
“Hardik’s going through a difficult time, and it’s not his fault. He has been asked to captain Mumbai Indians; who is going to say no to that? He has been given a job that every single Indian cricketer would like to do. MI have had a tricky couple of years, I just believe the communication wasn’t right.”
“I personally would’ve captained Rohit. Hardik coming back to MI is big enough pressure in itself, and Rohit is obviously going to be the Indian T20 captain. The sensible move would’ve been for Rohit to carry as MI captain with Hardik in mind for next year or 2,” Vaughan said.
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