"Agar Rohit Sharma ke liye aap jaa rahe hai to 20 crore rakhna padega" - Ravichandran Ashwin responds to fan who wants Hitman in RCB for IPL 2025

Seasoned Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reckons that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) targeting Rohit Sharma at the IPL 2025 auction would be not a feasible move for the franchise. He opined that to bid for the former Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, RCB would need to keep aside at least ₹20 crore.

Rohit has been part of the Mumbai Indians franchise since 2011. Under him, MI have won the IPL five times - a feat only Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have been able to match. However, the 37-year-old was sacked as captain ahead of the IPL 2024 season and was replaced by all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Under the latter, Mumbai Indians finished last in IPL 2024, winning only four out of 14 matches.

Over the last few weeks, there have been rumors doing the rounds that RCB might target Rohit at the IPL 2025 mega auction in case the star batter puts his name up for the same. According to Ashwin, though, the thought of the Bengaluru franchise going for Rohit at the mega auction doesn't seem like a practical one. Responding to a fan during a discussion on his YouTube channel, he said (12:35):

"Agar Rohit Sharma ke liye aap jaa rahe hai to 20 crore rakhna padega. 20 crore udhar gayab ho gaya. (You need to keep 20 crore with yourself if you want to sign up Rohit Sharma. 20 crore has disappeared there.)

Rohit is the all-time leading run-getter for the Mumbai Indians franchise. In 221 matches, he has scored 5,731 runs at an average of 29.69 and a strike rate of 131.05, with two hundreds and 36 fifties. As a captain, he has led Mumbai Indians in 158 matches out of which the team has won 87 and lost 67, while four games have ended in a tie.

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"I don’t see a possibility of MI leaving Rohit" - De Villiers

Before Ashwin, former South African and RCB batter AB de Villiers had also disagreed with suggestions that Rohit could join the Bengaluru franchise for IPL 2025. He said that if such a thing happens, it would be bigger than Pandya returning to MI. Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said:

“I almost laughed at the Rohit comment. That will be quite a story if Rohit moves from Mumbai Indians to RCB. Wow! Imagine the headlines. It will be bigger than Hardik Pandya’s move.

“I don’t think there is an option there. I don’t see a possibility of MI leaving Rohit. I will give that zero or 0.1 percent chance," he added.

Playing as a pure batter in IPL 2024, Rohit contributed 417 runs in 14 matches at an average of 32.08 and a strike rate of 150, with one hundred and one fifty.