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

Reports on social media and elsewhere suggested problems in the Mumbai Indian camp - particularly after cryptic posts by Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. These posts came after the franchise's announcement of appointing Hardik Pandya as captain, thereby replacing Rohit Sharma.

There was speculation over discontent among key players with reports of Rohit Sharma being traded off to other teams. However, Mumbai Indians have refuted these rumours and dismissed claims that franchises, including the Chennai Super Kings, approached them for a trade.

Kasi Viswanathan, the CEO of Chennai Super Kings, also denied such talks, and said that CSK does not subscribe to the practice of trading players and lacks suitable assets for a trade with the five-time IPL champions.

Speaking with Cricbuzz on the sidelines of the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai, he said, “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."

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Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher downplayed reports of internal discord within the team. Boucher conceded that there were emotions surrounding the decision but also said that the phase was "purely a transitional" one.

Boucher also mentioned that all relevant discussions had taken place with certain team members and the leadership within the group and that Mumbai Indians are moving forward. He also acknowledged Rohit’s contribution as a leader of the side.

“It's the game of cricket. Mumbai Indians move forward. Rohit has been fantastic for us. He's been a stalwart for Mumbai Indians, 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 and it's, you know, take all the motions aside and all that type of stuff. That's simply what it is all about," the coach said

The former South Africa wicket-keeper also said that he believed the side handled the situation effectively, since it was always going to be a transitional phase.