File photo of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah© BCCI/Sportzpics
As the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council releases its guidelines of player retention, experts have started to share opinions on the players franchises should decide to keep ahead of the mega auction. With as many as 6 players allowed by the BCCI, including Right-To-Match, some tough decisions are expected to unfold in the coming days. For Mumbai Indians, the future of former skipper Rohit Sharma is arguably the biggest talking point. But, former India batter Aakash Chopra feels MI also needs to take a big call on current captain Hardik Pandya.
While many feel Hardik would be MI's no. 1 retention ahead of the new season, Chopra is of the opinion that Jasprit Bumrah should take that spot. For Chopra, Bumah would be the No. 1 pick across the 10 IPL sides. Hence, he should be the top priority for MI too.
"The most difficult thing is to retain the Indian core. MI have won 5 trophies and CSK have also won 5 trophies. Both of them have had strong Indian cores. Overseas players, you can like-for-replacement. But, Indian players are tougher to get. Can you tell me a like-for-like replacement for Jasprit Bumrah?" Chopra said.
As far as Hardik is concerned, the former Kolkata Knight Riders cricketer feels the Mumbai Indian skipper can be the franchise's 4th pick. Suryakumar Yadav can be the second choice (in the INR 14 crore category), while the likes of Rohit, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, etc. would need to battle it out for the remaining spots.
"Indian retentions for Mumbai Indians seem straightforward. Hardik, Surya, Bumrah, you have three. After that, I think they will discuss with Rohit Sharma about the next step, I am pretty sure. It's anybody's guess after what has transpired. Whether he will stay in Mumbai or go elsewhere, I think it will also be his will. I think that will be a discussion. And then Ishan Kishan or Tilak Varma," he added.
"The interesting aspect will be the order of retention. Who will be the first, who will be the second and all that? Jasprit Bumrah is my No. 1 retention. He will be the first retention in the overall IPL, across all teams. If Bumrah is your first, then you have captain Hardik Pandya. He can be your fourth retention (Rs 18 crore). Then you have India's T20I captain, he is Suryakumar Yadav. He will be come in Rs 14 crore category. Then you have Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma. Then there is the wicketkeeper-batter batter in Ishan Kishan, whom you retained for Rs 15 or Rs 15.5 crore. It's going to be a tough one.
Tim David and Piyush Chawla are also some of the players MI is expected to retain. While Chawla fits well in the uncapped player category, the chances of David being retained remain slim.
"Tim David is there. Uncapped Piyush Chawla is there," Chopra asserted.