“If he were not the captain, he might not be playing right now” – Ex-India all-rounder’s blunt take on Rohit Sharma in BGT 2024-25 Test series

Former India player Irfan Pathan has questioned reigning skipper Rohit Sharma’s place in the XI amid his poor form following India’s 184-run loss in the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne. The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that KL Rahul should have opened the innings and Shubman Gill should’ve played at No.3 in Melbourne.

Notably, Rohit has returned with scores of 3, 6 (in Adelaide), 10 (in Brisbane) and 3,9 (in Melbourne). The right-handed batter had managed 133 runs in five home Tests (Bangladesh and New Zealand), including just one half-century before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Irfan Pathan told Star Sports (via NDTV):

“If we talk about reality, considering how he is struggling with the bat, there might not have been a place for him in the playing XI.”

"A player who has made about 20,000 runs—yet the way Rohit is struggling now, it seems his form is not supporting him at all. What's happening now is that he is the captain, so he is playing. If he were not the captain, he might not be playing right now. You would have had a set team."

"K.L. Rahul would have been playing at the top. Jaiswal would have been there. Shubman Gill would have been there 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,” he added.

Pathan further reminded that Rohit struggled with the bat in home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

“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.”

Overall, in 2024, Rohit amassed 619 runs in 14 Tests (26 innings) at an average of 24.76, including two centuries and as many fifties. He amassed 400 runs against England in the five-game series.

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“He has the power to do what’s best for Indian cricket” – Former India batter on Rohit Sharma

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar, meanwhile, said that Rohit Sharma himself has to make the call whether he wants to continue or retire from Tests. He told Star Sports (via The Times of India):

"It's not really up to Rohit Sharma. If you look at how the protocol and the hierarchy of team selection is, the chairman of selectors, he has the decision to make. He has the power to do what's best for Indian cricket, so it's not so much about Rohit Sharma himself, you know, deciding what should be the future.”

“The chairman of the selector has that power. That's with Rohit and he does look down in the doldrums. Virat Kohli is a different issue altogether,” he added.

Besides batting, Rohit has now lost five out of his last six Tests as captain, including a 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home.