Hyderabad: Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers feels that if Rohit Sharma decides to join Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will make the biggest headline in the history of the tournament.
Reacting to the speculation of Rohit leaving Mumbai Indians (MI), on his YouTube channel, de Villiers asserted that the move would grab headlines left, right and centre.
Former skipper Rohit Sharma was dethroned from Mumbai Indians' captaincy by former Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Hardik Pandya after he was roped in by the franchise in an all-cash trade deal last season. Rohit, who did not speak when the decision was made had his audio go viral later in the 2024 season in the league, discussing the developments in the franchise.
During a live Q (Question) and A (Answer) session on his YouTube channel, de Villiers reacted to the potential move from Rohit Sharma. AB de Villiers said that he did not see Rohit moving from MI to RCB given his loyalties to the Mumbai-based franchise.
"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. He moved from Gujarat Titans back to Mumbai, which although wasn't big a surprise. But if Rohit moves from Mumbai to join his rivals in RCB...oh my god! 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 per cent chance," De Villiers said
De Villiers further added that he saw Faf du Plessis continuing as the captain of RCB despite being 40 years of age.
"Age is just a number, guys. I don't see why his turning 40 would be an issue. He has been there for a few seasons, and the players are used to him. I understand there has been pressure on him because he hasn't won the trophy for RCB, but he has been exceptional as a player. I think Virat will back him with all his experience," he added.
According to the new retention and RTM card rules for the IPL 2025 mega auction, the franchises can retain up to six players. As per the graphics shared by the IPLT20 on their X handle, the retention cost is going to be 18, 14, 11, 18 and 14 crores for the 5 retention and 4 crores for uncapped players.
