Indian former pacer Irfan Pathan waves off accusations against him for showing excessive support in favour of Rohit Sharma after his dismal form in the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Australia.
The India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy back in 2024-25 did not have the desired results for the Indian team, but what was of further concern was their players’ lack of form.
Unlike the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, where India had drawbacks but never looked on the back foot, the BGT marked a thrashing of the pride of India’s red-ball legacy.
Your daily dose of cricket!
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy humiliation marked India’s exit from the race for the WTC final of 2025, as defending champions Australia and South Africa made it to the WTC 2025 final. This was the first time in three cycles that India missed qualification for the ICC World Test Championship final.
Irfan Pathan backs away from supporting Rohit Sharma
Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan recently posted a video on Lallantop, which claimed that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, whose form was largely questionable during the series, would have been snubbed from the playing 11 had he not been the skipper of the side.
“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 said in a teaser video released by Lallantop on Wednesday.
After Rohit Sharma decided to drop himself from the Sydney Test, he was interviewed by Irfan Pathan and Jatin Sapru, where ICT fans accused them of being unnecessarily polite towards the Indian skipper and showed hostility for not having directly criticized his presence in the Indian Test team despite his poor form.
“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,” said Irfan Pathan.
“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,” Irfan Pathan added.
“If he were not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
Rohit admitted that his concerning form in red-ball cricket could pose a major concern for India
The then Indian red-ball skipper, Rohit Sharma, during the interview with Jatin Sapru and Irfan Pathan, had admitted in front of his former teammate that he lacked form and hence decided to drop himself, as the team’s chances had been affected due to his inability to score runs, and the team needed more in-form players.
“This is what I say. Stand down. I will say a few words; fifty words will be made out of it. So basically, runs are not coming from my bat, I am not in form, it is an important match, we need players in form, and the boys in our batting are not in form, so you cannot carry too many out-of-form players in the team,” said Rohit.
Sharma scored just 164 runs across 8 Test matches in 2024, after winning the ICC T20 World Cup, and averaged a humiliating 6.20 across the three games he played against the Aussies in the BGT.
“It was difficult for me to take this decision but if everything is put in front of us, then this decision was sensible, and I will not think too much ahead. What the team needed at this time, this was the only thought, and there was no other thought apart from that,” Rohit added.
Rohit ended his Test career in May 2025
After much criticism and thrashing from the Indian media, sports enthusiasts, cricket pundits, and the Indian cricket fans, Rohit Sharma decided to step down as the Indian Test skipper and draw curtains to his illustrated career.
Rohit did not play the final Sydney Test in Australia but did not settle with retirement plans, as he returned to form with white-ball cricket and smashed runs at the top to lead India to a victory in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
He made his Test retirement official during the IPL 2025 campaign for the Mumbai Indians, and his decision was followed by Indian veteran Virat Kohli, who had also dipped to his lowest in red-ball cricket.
ALSO READ: Australia cope with serious injuries vs South Africa; 1 bowler, 1 Batsman, and 1 all-rounder ruled out
