If Rohit weren't playing, India would have had a set team: Irfan Pathan

This has been an extremely disappointing year for Rohit Sharma in Test cricket, as his form deserted and he became extremely unimaginative as a leader. For someone who has 4301 runs in his overall Test career, he averages just 24.76 in 14 Tests this year and has lost five out of the last six matches he led India in. 

In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit has amassed just 31 runs at an average of 6.20, with a highest score of 10. He batted at No.6 for two games, and when it didn’t work for him, he promoted himself back to the opening slot, thus relegating an in-form KL Rahul to No.3. Did it work? Not really.

“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. KL Rahul would have been playing at the top. (Yashasvi) Jaiswal would have been there. Shubman Gill would have been there,” former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan said during the commentary, reported Indian Express.

Also Read: Time to pass the baton, Rohit

“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. But because he is the captain, and you want to win the next match to draw the series, he stays in the team,” the former pacer added.

There has been increasing call for Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format after the batter failed to inspire any confidence throughout the year. With the age not being on his side, it is only a prudent call. Irfan Pathan calls it a very “disappointing scene” watching the Indian skipper bat. 

“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,” Pathan said.