IPL 2025 Auction: Punjab Kings To Target Rohit Sharma? Here's What Sanjay Bangar Said On MI's Ex-Captain

The IPL 2025 Auction is months away but it seems the murmurs around Rohit Sharma's availability in the event has already started. The former Mumbai Indians (MI) captain was stripped of his captaincy for the last season and reportedly his name will be in the list for the mega auction.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Head of Cricket Development Sanjay Bangar has said that his franchise will target the veteran batter if he is released by MI. The former India all-rounder though remained noncommittal whether their franchise will bid in for Rohit if the latter comes into the auction pool.

Bangar stated that a lot will depend on the retention rules that will be finalized before the mega auction next year. He however stated that Rohit will be the most sought-after players if his name enters the auction.

"We will have to wait and watch (will Rohit head to the auction?). I played with Rohit at one point for the Deccan Chargers. From there, he has been a Mumbai boy. Yes, there was a change in direction as far as Mumbai Indians are concerned. But, it all depends on the retentions, because that is a topic which is under consideration.

"Once there is clarity on the retentions, then we get to know the number of players. We need to know the players that are released by the teams. Only then we will know who will come into the auctions and which is the team that will run after a particular player," Sanjay Bangar told The Rao Podcast.

"It all depends on whether we have the money in our pocket. Because if Rohit comes into the auction, I certainly believe he is going to go for a very high price," Bangar said.

MI nor Rohit have spoken on parting but it would be interesting to see if the T20 World Cup winner would want to continue with the franchise after the 2023 episode.

Rohit led MI to five titles between 2013 to 2020. However, the 37-year-old's relationship with the franchise could be about to end after his sacking from the captaincy role.

Earlier this year, Rohit's wife Ritika Sajdeh had quashed MI head coach Mark Boucher's decision to remove the Mumbai batter as the captain. Speaking on SmashSports podcast, Boucher said it was a 'cricketing decision'.

This did not go down well with Ritika who wrote, "So many things wrong with this," in the comments section of the SmashSports podcast on Instagram.