Why Rohit Sharma agreed to least salary among Mumbai Indians top 4 picks, he told Akash Ambani…

Mumbai Indians are six-time former Indian Premier League (IPL) champions. But the Mukesh Ambani-owned franchise have been going through a roller-coaster ride over the last couple of seasons with Hardik Pandya returning to the side from Gujarat Titans and replacing Rohit Sharma as skipper in IPL 2024.

The retention choice for MI were also not easy as there was speculation that Rohit Sharma could be on his way out of the franchise after announcing his T20 international retirement after leading Team India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title earlier this year.

If Rohit Sharma exit the side, there was the possibility that current Indian T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav will leave as well. But it was Rohit who kept the MI core together for the IPL 2025 season.

Jasprit Bumrah got the highest billing with Rs 18 crore since he is talisman when it comes to MI bowling attack. While Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav were retained for Rs 16.35 crore each and Rohit Sharma settled for Rs 16.3 crore.

It was Rohit Sharma who came up with this formula for MI team CEO Akash Ambani. “He (Rohit) was the one who said that Bumrah, Hardik and Surya play for India so they need to be in the top three,” a MI source was quoted as saying by Indian Express newspaper.

When it came to deciding the top retention player, it was Rohit, Surya and Hardik who agreed that it had to be Bumrah. “It has a lot to do with the respect Bumrah has in the team and his importance to the side,” the source added.

Regarding the MI captaincy, it was once again Rohit who came up with the solution. There were discussions on mistakes made by captain Pandya as well as the team management last season. As a result, former coach Mahela Jayawardene was back in his role as head coach replacing Mark Boucher.

“If we had made a change, it would have been three captains in three years. That wouldn’t have worked,” the MI source said.

Rohit expressed his satisfaction on staying with Mumbai, highlighting the significance of playing for his hometown team, where he has delivered some of his best performances.

“I’m thrilled to be part of Mumbai Indians yet again. I have played so much cricket in Mumbai, this is the place where I started my cricket career. So this city is very, very special. Obviously, when you play for such a long time, you create so many memories with the team,” said Rohit.

 

“We haven’t had the best of the season in the last two or three years. But we are quite determined to change that,” he added.

“Since I have retired from the format, I think this is the perfect [retention] spot for me. The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. That’s what I believe in and I am quite happy with it,” said the former captain of MI.