‘Jung hogi jung…’ – Irfan Pathan makes huge prediction for Rohit Sharma ahead of IPL mega auction – India TV

Rohit Sharma and his future with the Mumbai Indians was one of the main talking points during the last edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The five-time champions controversially removed him from the captaincy and Hardik Pandya took over the leadership duties. Rohit was reportedly unhappy with the decision and things had been rocky in the MI camp all season.

The teams will regroup ahead of the next edition of IPL, the mega auction will be held soon. The rules for player retention are not official yet, but given his IPL form, Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be among the first players to be retained in the MI camp, as players like Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik are in the squad. What if MI decides to release their former captain? Will any team bid for Rohit in the mega auction?

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that there will be a bidding war for the former MI captain at the auction if he is released and most teams will want to secure his services. He stressed that Rohit has tremendous experience as a captain and has won the IPL an incredible five times. “Jung hogi Jung (I'm telling you, there will be a huge bidding war for Rohit Sharma). He brings one special thing and that is 'captaincy experience'. Every team wants a captain like him.

“With Rohit, they get an Indian captain and hence they can apply the impact player rule well as a foreign captain sometimes forces teams to keep him in the starting XI regardless of his performance,” Irfan told India TV exclusively.

When asked if Rohit Sharma's final price will be influenced by his current form in the IPL, Irfan Pathan clearly denied this possibility but opined that Rohit's fitness will be the most important question for the franchises, not his form. “Not at all. We all know what Hitman Rohit can do with the bat. Yes, one thing every team will keep a close eye on is his fitness. If Rohit Sharma is FIT, he will be HIT,” Irfan added.