India’s explosive opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma could come together in the Indian Premier League too next year as Mumbai Indians are reportedly discussing the transfer of the southpaw with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dhawan, who has two more seasons left on his SRH contract, is not happy with his current franchise and has expressed his desire to leave, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror. The left-handed opener reportedly had an argument with Sunrisers coach Tom Moody and was not happy when he wasn’t one of the three players retained by the franchise from the previous season, which would have commanded him a higher fee.
Dhawan was bought by the Sunrisers for Rs 5.2 crore in the players auction after using their Right to Match card. David Warner (Rs 12.5 crore), Manish Pandey (Rs 11 crore), Rashid Khan (Rs 9 crore) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 8.5 crore) all got a better deal than Dhawan at the Sunrisers after the auction.
According to the Mumbai Mirror report, skipper Rohit Sharma himself is quite keen on Mumbai bagging the services of Dhawan. A Sunrisers Hyderabad official reportedly admitted to the daily that the franchise was in discussions with Mumbai Indians to trade Dhawan. “If we get a couple of good players as a trade-off, we’re open to it,” the official was quoted as saying.
Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab are also interested in getting Dhawan, the report said. The first of two IPL trading windows is currently open and will shut a week before the auction, expected to be held in the third week of December. The second trading window will open after the auction and go on till the start of the next season.
South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was sold by Royal Challengers Bangalore to Mumbai Indians earlier this week. De Kock was bought by RCB for Rs 2.8 crore last year. Mumbai Indians have released Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman and Sri Lanka off-spinner Akila Dananjaya, who were bought for Rs 2.2 Crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively. Both players failed to make an impact for Mumbai last season.