'When did he perform?': Virender Sehwag shares bold remark on Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians stint

On Friday evening, a video circulated by Kolkata Knight Riders gained widespread attention. Although KKR removed the video later, it featured a brief exchange between Kolkata's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and Mumbai Indians' batsman Rohit Sharma at Eden Gardens, ahead of their IPL 2024 match on Saturday. Despite its deletion, copies of the clip proliferated on social media. Rohit's remarks in the video triggered speculation about his future with Mumbai Indians. Notably, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag seemed convinced that it could be his final season with the franchise.

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What came out of the viral video?

In the video shared by KKR, Rohit can be heard telling Nayar,“Ek ek cheez change ho raha hai... . Woh unke upar hai, main ye sab pe dhyaan nahi data... (Everything is changing one by one. It depends on them, I don't care about that),"

The former Mumbai Indians skipper, who was removed from the leadership role last December with Hardik Pandya replacing him, added, “Jo bhi hai woh mera ghar hai bhai, woh temple jo hai na maine banwaya hai. (Whatever it is, it's my home. It's a temple that I've built)."

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Virender Sehwag not sure Mumbai Indians would retain Rohit Sharma

During a discussion with Cricbuzz on Saturday, Virender Sehwag acknowledged his lack of awareness regarding the viral video. However, his opinion on Rohit Sharma's potential non-retention by MI was solely based on statistical analysis. Sehwag argued that, aside from Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, no player in the MI squad has ensured their place for retention in the upcoming mega auction. This perspective possibly extends to Hardik Pandya's situation as well.

"Rohit scored one hundred and it was in a losing cause. In the remaining matches, when did he perform? Ishan Kishan has not gone beyond the powerplay the entire season. So the only two players who are certain are Bumrah and Suryakumar. If they have a third and a fourth, we'll see,” he said.