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Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif said that in case Mumbai Indians (MI) star and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma joins the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru should take a chance at him and make him the captain for his team-building capacities.
Kaif's statement comes as IPL announced the rules and regulations related to retentions and auction format ahead of next season in 2025. Also, rumours in the media are swirling around Rohit's future with MI, with whom he won five IPL titles as a captain. Last year, the five-time champions brought back all-rounder Hardik Pandya to the franchise as a captain following his two-year-stint with Gujarat Titans (GT), which proved to be a controversial decision. The decision did not meet the approval of the majority of the franchise's fans, who booed Hardik out of the stadium across India throughout the 2024 season. MI finished the last season at the bottom of the table with just four wins in 14 games, and even Hardik underperformed throughout the tournament. On the other hand, despite the presence of stars like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Zaheer Khan, etc. over the years, RCB have never won an IPL trophy, with their best performances being runners-up finishes in 2009, 2011 and 2016. Speaking on Star Sports, Kaif said, "RCB should take this chance. Somehow convince Rohit and make him the captain. He might not score that much as a batter, he scores forties and fifties, but I believe Rohit knows how to build a playing eleven very well.". He also said that Rohit should play the IPL as a captain only, since he has a fine track-record as a leader, which includes this year's ICC T20 World Cup that ended Indian team's 11-year major ICC trophy drought. "Rohit Sharma should play as a captain only in the IPL because he is such a great captain. He has come after winning the T20 World Cup. He would have offers. We know people would have been calling him and asking him to play for them. I feel he should take the role of a captain only, whichever franchise is offering it," he said. Rohit is the third-highest run-getter in the tournament history, with 6,628 runs at an average of 29.72, with a strike rate of 131.14. He has scored two centuries and 43 fifties, with the best score of 109*. Following a constructive dialogue with the owners of the 10 franchises in July at the BCCI Headquarters, the IPL Governing Council (GC) met in Bengaluru on September 28 to decide the IPL Player Regulations 2025-2027. The following decisions were taken in the IPL Governing Council meeting: The IPL franchises can retain a total of 6 players from their existing squad. This can be either via retention or by using the Right to Match (RTM) option. It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for Retentions and RTMs. The 6 retentions / RTM's can have a maximum of 5 capped players (Indian & Overseas) and a maximum of 2 uncapped players. -The auction purse for the franchises has been set at INR 120 Crore for IPL 2025. The total salary cap will now consist of auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. Previously in 2024, the total salary cap (auction purse + incremental performance pay) was Rs. 110 Crs which will now be Rs. 146 Crs (2025), Rs. 151 Crs (2026) and Rs. 157 Crs (2027).A match fee has been introduced for the first time in the history of IPL. Each Playing member (Including the Impact Player) will get a match fee of INR 7.5 Lakhs per match. This will be in addition to his contracted amount. Any Overseas Player will have to register for the Big Auction. In case the overseas player doesn't register, then he will be ineligible to register in the following year's player auction. Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for 2 Seasons. A capped Indian player will become uncapped, if the player has in the last five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant Season is held, not played in the starting XI in International Cricket (Test match, ODI, Twenty20 International) or does not have a Central Contract with BCCI. This will be applicable for Indian Players only. The Impact Player Regulation will continue for the 2025 to 2027 cycle. (ANI)
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