IPL: R Ashwin hails Rohit Sharma's loyalty toward MI
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has voiced his support for Rohit Sharma's commitment to the Mumbai Indians (MI) team, ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. This comes despite a change in leadership last year when Hardik Pandya replaced Rohit as MI's captain. Ashwin shared his views on his YouTube channel, emphasizing that even without the captaincy role, players like Rohit would happily continue with their teams.
Ashwin highlights Rohit's dedication to MI
Ashwin stated, "Even if you think like Rohit, it's not wrong at all. I don't want any headache." He further added, "I have been a captain for India. I have captained Mumbai many times. Even if I am not a captain, I am going to Mumbai happily." "After a stage, money doesn't matter for some of those players. That's the thing," Ashwin said amid the IPL retention talks.
Rohit's impressive IPL 2024 season and career with MI
In the IPL 2024 season, Rohit had a commendable performance with the bat, scoring 417 runs at an average of 32.07 and a strike rate of 150. He also scored a century and a half-century during this season. Since joining MI in 2011, Rohit has played nearly 200 matches for the team, amassing over 5,000 runs at an average close to 30 and a strike rate nearing 130.
Rohit 's successful captaincy and transition
Under Rohit's leadership, MI won the IPL trophy five times in 10 years (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020) and reached the playoffs twice. His successor as MI captain is Hardik. Rohit also led MI to two Champions League T20 titles in 2011 and 2013. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see whether MI retain the 37-year-old Rohit ahead of the 2025 mega-auction or not.
