Ahead of the start of IPL 2024, former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is on the news. MI had removed IPL’s most successful captain ahead of the start of the season, replacing him with Hardik Pandya. A lot of fans were unhappy with the way Rohit was disregarded, and apparently Rohit was too. But after everything, he is still a Mumbai Indians player. But will he remain so before the start of IPL 2024? Can Rohit leave IPL’s most successful team before the start of IPL 2024? Let’s find out.
Rohit’s removal from captaincy was endorsed by MI coach Mark Boucher in a podcast. “I think it was purely a cricketing decision. I do think it is going to bring the best out of Rohit as a person and as a player. Just let him go out and enjoy and score some good runs,” Boucher had said.
However, that MI’s decision was not well received by Rohit Sharma’s camp was evident when Rohit’s wife Ritika Sachdeh took to social media to voice her opinion. Ritika Sajdeh reacted to Boucher’s comment and said: “So many things wrong with this.”
The video was swiftly deleted. However, the discrepancy was there for all to see. Considering Rohit is not happy with MI’s decision, can he leave for any other IPL team before the start of IPL 2024? It is improbable but possible.
Rohit can leave the team through the trade option available to franchises before the start of IPL. The trading window, which reopened a day after the IPL 2024 mini auction, is open till a month before the start of the tournament.
Considering that the IPL 2024 is not likely to start before the last week of March, it means teams can trade players till the last week of February. While it leaves ample time for other franchises to go after Rohit, very few have the purse available to pull off the coup. Moreover, it would require the teams to release a player before taking Rohit onboard. However, it is unlikely Rohit will stay with the 5-time champions after the upcoming season.