Former India National Cricket Team all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opined that the India skipper Rohit Sharma wouldn’t have been able to find a spot in the playing XI of the Test team if hasn’t been the captain.
Irfan Pathan’s comments came after the humiliating defeat of the India National Cricket Team under Rohit Sharma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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Rohit Sharma going through a lean patch
The Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been going through the worst time of his career, both as Test skipper and batter. Under him, India faced an embarrassing home Test series whitewash against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
It was expected that something would change in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, but things have gone worse. In his absence, India won the Perth Test in a dominating fashion, but since his return, the team have struggled and are yet to register a victory, losing 2 Tests and managing to draw one Down Under.
Rohit’s personal form is also affecting the team as he has not managed to contribute anything at all. In the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, he batted in the middle-order and failed miserably.
There was a change in the playing XI combination in the Melbourne Test, and he returned to his usual opening position, pushing in-form KL Rahul to No.3. However, that didn’t work either, and the India skipper displayed a terrible batting performance.
Across five innings in the Border-Gavaskar series, Rohit has scored just 31 runs at an average of 6.20.
If he were not the captain, he might not be playing right now – Irfan Pathan
Speaking on Star Sports, the former India National Cricket Team player Pathan stated that Team India would have had a set playing XI in Test cricket if Rohit wasn’t captain as he wouldn’t have been included in the side based on his current form.
“A player who has made about 20,000 runs—yet the way Rohit is struggling now, it seems his form is not supporting him at all. What’s happening now is that he is the captain, so he is playing. If he were not the captain, he might not be playing right now.
“You would have had a set team. K.L. Rahul would have been playing at the top. Jaiswal would have been there. Shubman Gill would have been there. If we talk about reality, considering how he is struggling with the bat, there might not have been a place for him in the playing XI,” Irfan Pathan said.
Even in India, even before coming here, he wasn’t scoring runs – Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan further expressed his disappointment and said that the form of Rohit is extremely poor, and he wasn’t scoring runs in the home series as well.
“But because he is the captain, and you want to win the next match to draw the series, he stays in the team. But his form is so poor. Even in India, even before coming here, he wasn’t scoring runs, and he still hasn’t scored runs.
“This is a very disappointing scene when I see Rohit Sharma batting. Because whenever I see Rohit Sharma batting, I always want to see him bat. Whether it is test cricket or one-day cricket, But now, his form, the way he is going forward, whether it is his mindset or the coordination with his body, I can’t see that at all,” he added.
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