Will Mumbai Indians (MI) retain Rohit Sharma or will the Indian legend enter a mega-auction after 14 years? This is one of the biggest questions going into the IPL 2024 mega-auction. Multiple reports have suggested that Rohit could stay at MI and will once again play under Hardik Pandya's captaincy. Hardik replaced Rohit as MI's captain even when he was India's all-format captain.

Hardik-led MI had their worst-ever season in IPL 2024 and they finished at the last spot in the points table. A month later, Rohit captained India to a title win in the T20 World Cup. Rohit has now retired from T20Is and isn't expected to return as captain.

Rohit's presence in MI's dressing room will be a big boost for them and he will have a huge role to play if he stays with MI. Can Rohit, who is a five-time IPL-winning captain, earn more than Hardik if retained by Mumbai Indians? Here we have a look if it can happen -

Yes, Rohit can have more salary than Hardik even if MI retain both players. A franchise mostly picks its captain as first-choice pick but it's not compulsory. MI can make Rohit their first-choice retention even if Hardik remains captain. But that is unlikely to happen.

Given that MI's core of Rohit, Hardik, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav can earn big bucks in the mega-auction, the franchise might decide to pay them equally. They can either retain them for similar amounts (they can spend 75 crore before the auction) or decide to pay more to one or two players.

Under the IPL rules, a franchise can distribute 75 crore in a maximum of 5 capped players. This amount can also be used to retain one, two or three players. An uncapped player can be retained for Rs 4 crore. The IPL 2025 mega-auction is likely to take place in the last week of November.

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