Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has been struggling to get runs in ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under. Recently, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan made a bold statement on Rohit and said that he is only playing in the team just because of the captaincy. After missing the first Test due to the birth of his son, Rohit has been able to score only 31 runs in three matches so far.
Speaking to Star Sports after India’s 184-run in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Irfan Pathan said “If we talk about reality, considering how he (Rohit) is struggling with the bat, there might not have been a place for him in the playing XI." Speaking further, Irfan also stated that Rohit wasn’t even getting runs during the home Test series against New Zealand ahead of the BGT.
Very disappointing scene when I see Rohit Sharma batting
India suffered a 184-run defeat on Boxing Day and are on the verge of losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years as Australia now lead by 2-1 ahead of the fifth Test in Sydney starting on January 3, 2025. Joining the squad after first Test, Rohit decided to bat in the middle-order after KL Rahul had an impressive outing as an opener in Perth. However, the right-hander couldn’t get a big score in Adelaide and Brisbane and decided to come back to open the innings in Melbourne. However, Rohit again failed to get a big score as an opener was out at the score of 3 and 9 respectively.
“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," Irfan Pathan further said.
