NEW DELHI: Former South African batsman AB de Villiers stated that while it is extremely unlikely, it would be a huge headline-making move if Indian captain and Mumbai Indians (MI) star Rohit Sharma joined Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The great made his remarks ahead of the 2025 IPL season, which will see the announcement of the league’s retention policies and auction format. In addition, there are rumors circulating in the media regarding Rohit’s future with MI, the team he captained to five IPL titles.
Following his two-year spell with Gujarat Titans (GT), all-rounder Hardik Pandya was controversially called back to the team as captain by the five-time champions last year.
The bulk of the team’s supporters disapproved of the choice, and during the 2024 season, they jeered Hardik out of Indian stadiums, accusing him of betraying Rohit, who helped MI win numerous titles and turned Hardik into a household name.
With just four wins in 14 games, MI completed the previous season at the bottom of the table, and even Hardik struggled during the competition. Rohit, on the other hand, amassed 417 runs in 14 matches, including a hundred and a fifty.
Speaking on his Youtube channel, De Villiers said on this week’s latest episode of the ‘360 Show’.
“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 do not see a possibility of MI leaving Rohit. I will give that zero or 0.1 per cent chance,” he said.
Rohit is the third-highest run-getter in the tournament history, with 6,628 runs at an average of 29.72, with a strike rate of 131.14. He has scored two centuries and 43 fifties, with the best score of 109*.