IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings respond to reports of approaching Mumbai Indians for Rohit Sharma

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the sidelines of the IPL 2024 auction said that it is not involved in a trade deal with Mumbai Indians to buy out some of their star players, like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.

Earlier, it was reported that Mumbai Indians' recent decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as captain in a historic trade deal has led to unrest in the team. Social media was flooded with news that several senior players, such as Rohit Sharma, were planning to leave the team and move to some other franchisee.

Some reports even claimed that some players, like Bumrah and Surya, were not happy after Hardik was elevated as the captain of Mumbai Indians and replaced Rohit, who was the captain for 10 years.

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan on Tuesday clarified that the 5-time champions are not open to trading Mumbai Indian players. Viswanathan told Cricbuzz on the sidelines of the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai that the team did not approach Mumbai Indians for any such negotiations.

"We don't trade players as a principle and we also don't have players to trade with Mumbai Indians. We have not approached them and we don't intend to either," he said on Tuesday.

Mumbai head coach Mark Boucher on Tuesday also rubbished the reports about the rift within the MI camp. Boucher admitted that while he understands the emotion surrounding the big call, he emphasised that this was "purely a transitional phase".

"We have had conversations with certain team members and the leadership within the group. I think it's purely just a transition phase. Mumbai Indians move forward. Rohit has been fantastic for us. He's been a stalwart for Mumbai Indians, and he has done really well. This is just a decision that is made by us to move forward and get into a transition phase with the new captain," Boucher said.

MI officially did not carry any comment on the removal of Rohit Sharma, but Global Head of Cricket Mahela Jayawardene said the call was taken in mind to be future-ready.

"Having Ro (Rohit Sharma) in the team, on and off the field to guide the next generation is very important for us. He has been absolutely brilliant. I have worked very closely with Ro. He is a fabulous individual and I am sure he will be part of the legacy who will guide that through," Jayawardene said in Dubai.

Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to win five IPL titles between 2013 and 2023. But his records in the last few seasons have been unimpressive. Since 2020, he has scored just 1,313 runs in four seasons at an average of 23.9 runs.

On the other hand, Hardik, who spent 7 years at Mumbai Indians before going to Gujarat Titans, led the Titans to title in 2022 and to the final in 2023.

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