Rohit Sharma speaks about mid-season transfers in IPL 

What's the story?

Rohit Sharma, who is the captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the Indian Premier League, opened up about the pros of mid-season transfers in the tournament.

"The mid-season transfer window will give the teams an opportunity to see what they need in the squad and other teams will also be looking at what players they can get," Rohit said. "It completely depends on the franchise if a situation comes when we need to get a player or give a player. It is good for the tournament and will add even more value to it," said Rohit in a press conference ahead of the IPL.

In case you didn't know...

As of now, mid-season transfers are not allowed in the IPL. Each team can buy players in the auction or a specific players transfer window prior to the tournament.

The details

The idea of mid-season transfers came in the 2016 edition of the tournament when Dale Steyn was benched by the Gujarat Lions at a time when a few teams were desperately in need of a fast bowler.

Mahela Jayawardene, who is the head coach of the defending champions, also felt that mid-season transfers would be a step in the right direction. He felt that it would be going the football way and also felt that investing in younger players is always going to be healthy for international cricket.

What's next?

Transfers during the middle of the season will not take place this season as the tournament is set to begin on April 7 with the Mumbai Indians taking on the Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.

Author's take

Mid-season transfers would be a great addition to the tournament as it would give those players the chance to play who have been benched for the first half of the season.

Over the years, a lot of talented individuals were seen spending almost the entire season on the bench whereas a few other teams have felt the need to add a few players to their squad to improve their performances.