- Ashwin doesn’t rule out Naman Dhir as MI’s future ctain and talks about Rohit’s IPL future and Hardik’s possible exit. Ravichandran Ashwin compared the uncertainty over Rohit Sharma’s retirement to MS Dhoni’s longevity and backed Naman Dhir as the future ctain.
- Ashwin doesn’t rule out Naman Dhir as future MI ctain and talks about Rohit’s IPL future and Hardik’s possible exit (Source: BCCI on
- Ashwin made these observations on his YouTube channel and drew a comparison between Rohit’s situation and MS Dhoni’s long career.
Ashwin doesn’t rule out Naman Dhir as MI’s future ctain and talks about Rohit’s IPL future and Hardik’s possible exit. Ravichandran Ashwin compared the uncertainty over Rohit Sharma’s retirement to MS Dhoni’s longevity and backed Naman Dhir as the future ctain.
Ashwin doesn’t rule out Naman Dhir as future MI ctain and talks about Rohit’s IPL future and Hardik’s possible exit (Source: BCCI on Ashwin made these observations on his YouTube channel and drew a comparison between Rohit’s situation and MS Dhoni’s long career. Rohit Sharma is one of the most prolific batsmen in IPL history, scoring 7,329 runs in 281 games.
His highest score is 109* and his average is 29.91 with a strike rate of 132.92. His overall record in the tournament includes two centuries, 49 half-centuries, 661 fours and 323 sixes. Rohit started his IPL career with the Deccan Chargers in 2008 before moving to the Mumbai Indians in 2011 and won a total of six IPL titles, including one with the Deccan Chargers in 2009 and five with the Mumbai Indians.
As such, he led Mumbai Indians to the Cup in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020, cementing his place among the most successful leaders in the history of the tournament. “We don’t know if he (Rohit) will play for another year or more. The same was said about Dhoni and he ended up playing for many years and is likely to return as a player next season.
In future too, I will not rule out Naman Dhir as a candidate because of his clarity and steadfastness,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. What did Ashwin say about Hardik Pandya’s future with Mumbai Indians? Ashwin also addressed the Mumbai Indians situation more generally, hinting that Hardik Pandya will almost certainly leave the franchise via trade before the upcoming IPL season.
He pointed out that MI could look to acquire an Indian leg-spinner or left-arm pacer from the Punjab Kings as part of a potential deal for Hardik. Hardik Pandya took over as ctain of Mumbai Indians in 2024 after his return from Gujarat Titans, replacing Rohit Sharma at the helm. His opinion attracted harsh criticism and the team had a difficult season that year, finishing last in the points table with just four wins from 14 games.
The 2025 season brought some improvements: Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth in the league stage, although their season ended with a loss to the Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2. However, the 2026 season once again proved dispointing: MI only got four wins from their first twelve games and ultimately finished in ninth place with four wins and ten defeats. The franchise’s failure to reach the playoffs for the second time in three seasons under Hardik has heightened questions surrounding the title.
“It is almost certain that he (Hardik) will not be with MI unless they try to hold onto him at the last moment. But I believe he will be traded. “MI may be looking for a leg-spinner in trade and there have even been talks of MI targeting an Indian left-arm pacer in PBKS for Hardik,” Ashwin said.
Could Rohit Sharma return as MI while Hardik stays as a player? Ashwin also spoke about the possibility of Mumbai Indians bringing Rohit back as ctain and keeping Hardik Pandya in the team only as a player. He pointed out that there was no equivalent replacement available for Hardik, making a complete sw difficult for the franchise.
The bigger picture for Mumbai Indians entering the 2027 IPL auction cycle is one of important transition. With Hardik’s tenure under scrutiny after consecutive poor results in 2024 and 2026 and Rohit’s IPL future still up in the air, the franchise faces important decisions in terms of both leadership and team composition.
