Irfan Pathan Discloses Shocking Reason for Rohit Sharma’s Sydney Test Absence

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has claimed that if Rohit Sharma was not the captain of the team, it would have been difficult for him to remain in the Test team in the second half of 2024. Pathan recalled Rohit’s poor performance during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In that series, Rohit was able to score runs in three matches at an average of just 6.20, and then was dropped from the final Test in Sydney.

Irfan said that Rohit bats brilliantly for India in ODI and T20 cricket, which is unmatched, but when it comes to Test cricket, his average is very poor there. If we talk about last year, his average was 6 and after such a performance, it would have been difficult to make a place in the team. That’s why we said that if he was not the captain, he would not have been a part of the team.

Rohit’s statement during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Rohit himself talked about this decision in an interview given to Irfan Pathan and Jatin Sapru on January 5, 2025. He said, “Simply put, runs were not coming from my bat, I was not in form. The team needed players in form at that time. Many players in our batting were out of form, and you cannot play so many out of form players in the team together. Thinking this, I decided to sit out. It was difficult, but it was necessary for the team.”

Irfan Pathan reacts

Pathan also responded to the allegations that he was supporting Rohit too much. He said, people say that I supported Rohit too much, so when someone comes as a guest on your show, you will not misbehave with him. We only respected our guest. Then Pathan emphasized his view, “We said that Rohit should fight, but if he was not the captain, he would not have been in the team” and it is true.