Former India players forced to support Rohit Sharma: ‘We had to... He shouldn’t have been in the XI,' says Irfan Pathan

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan sensationally revealed details about Rohit Sharma’s interview with broadcasters in Sydney after he decided to “opt out” of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. Pathan said they were compelled to publicly support the then-India Test captain despite his meagre returns in the format over the last three series. Irfan Pathan had interviewed Rohit Sharma during Sydney Test vs Australia

In a teaser clip released by Lallantop on Wednesday, Pathan acknowledged Rohit’s white-ball brilliance but highlighted his notably poor Test performances. Across eight Test matches last year against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia, the 37-year-old scored just 164 runs, with a single half-century. During the tour of Australia, where he played three games, Rohit averaged only 6.20 – the lowest ever by a visiting captain in Australia (minimum five innings).

Pathan stressed that had Rohit not been captain, he would likely have been benched after such performances. “Rohit Sharma is an amazing player in white-ball cricket, but his average in Test cricket that year was 6, so we said that if he was not the captain, he would not have had a place in the team, and this is true,” he said.

Amid mounting criticism and questions over his Test future, Rohit was not included for the series finale in Sydney. While many speculated that he was dropped, Rohit clarified in an interview that he had voluntarily chosen to “opt out.”

Pathan revealed that despite knowing Rohit Sharma’s place in the playing XI was not secure, they were compelled to publicly back him during that interview.

"People say that we supported Rohit Sharma more than necessary. Of course, when someone comes to interview on your broadcasting channel, you will not misbehave with them, right? You have invited him, so you will behave politely. When Rohit came to interview, we were, of course, polite, and we had to show that, because he was our guest. So that was connected and said we were supporting him, but it was we who said...we had said that he should keep fighting, but that said, he should not have had a place in the playing XI. If he was not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped," he said.

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