If Rohit Sharma were not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped: Irfan Pathan

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has stated that if Rohit Sharma weren’t the skipper of the Indian Test team, he would have been dropped from the Indian squad due to his poor returns.

It’s worth noting that Rohit had three consecutive poor series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia, accumulating only 164 runs with a single half-century. Additionally, in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under against Australia, he could average only 6.2.

“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,” Irfan Pathan told The Lallantop.

Also, Pathan asserted that the Broadcast team made him publicly back Rohit during the viral interview after the Indian skipper dropped himself from the playing XI for the SCG Test due to poor returns throughout the tour.

"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,” he added. 

“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 were not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped," he concluded.

A few months later, Rohit announced his Test retirement ahead of the much-awaited England tour. Selectors were quick to announce Shubman Gill as the new Test captain as he led the team to a 2-2 series scoreline.

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