"You know he is their main bowler" - Former India all-rounder criticizes Rohit Sharma's dismissal on Day 5 of BGT 2024-25 4th Test

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has criticized Rohit Sharma for his shot selection that led to his dismissal in India's second innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fourth Test. He pointed out that the Indian skipper should have played Pat Cummins cautiously as the Australian captain is the hosts' biggest weapon with the ball.

Rohit scored nine runs off 40 deliveries as India were bundled out for 155 on Day 5 (Monday, December 30) in Melbourne. The visitors suffered an 184-run defeat to go 1-2 down in the five-match series.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan compared Cummins to Jasprit Bumrah and noted that Rohit should have looked to play out his Australian counterpart.

"When you play Bumrah, you play him very cautiously. Pat Cummins brings the same stature in terms of average and wicket-taking ability for Australia. So you know he is their main bowler and is very lethal. Then play him out," he said.

Pathan added that the Indian opener should have looked to tire Cummins out instead of trying to play an extravagant shot against him.

"When Bumrah came in the last spell yesterday, he was extremely tired. You get him (Cummins) to bowl three or four spells at least. Tire him out and he will also make mistakes. There was no need for the expansive flick you played," he observed.

Rohit Sharma added 25 runs for the opening wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 off 208) in 16.1 overs. He got an outside edge while trying to flick Pat Cummins and was caught by Mitchell Marsh at gully.

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"Pat Cummins had figured out that Rohit Sharma was repeatedly leaving deliveries" - Irfan Pathan

Rohit Sharma was largely untroubled before he lost his wicket. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Irfan Pathan noted that Pat Cummins devised a plan to dismiss Rohit Sharma.

"The setup was to keep bowling full and take the ball away from the stumps. Then he also bowled a few balls outside the off-stump. Pat Cummins had figured out that Rohit Sharma was repeatedly leaving deliveries. So he continuously bowled at the off-stump and tried to get him to play a false shot," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Rohit committed a big error in playing across the line after having survived the most difficult period against the new ball.

"The ball swung late, which means there was no reason for you to play with half the bat. It was a big mistake to play on the leg side, especially when you know you had played almost 17 overs. You had virtually done the difficult job, but one wrong shot and he lost his wicket," Pathan observed.

Rohit Sharma has endured a horror run with the bat in the ongoing series. He has aggregated 31 runs at a paltry average of 6.20 in five innings, with 10 being his best effort.