Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan reckoned that Rohit Sharma is playing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 because he is the captain otherwise he might not be playing against Australia citing his current form in the longest format of the game. India captain Rohit is going through a lean patch of his career, in his 26 Test innings he just scored 619 runs at an average of 24.76.
Rohit faced a lot of criticism after Australia defeated India by 185 runs in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.
"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. 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" Pathan said on Star Sports.
Pathan also highlighted Rohit's performance in India's last two Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand where India's captain failed to make any impact with bat.
"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 batting. 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" added Pathan.
After losing the fourth Test match against Australia, India's chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final are dicey. On the other hand, Australia strengthened their position for the WTC final scheduled to take place in England next year.
India and Australia are scheduled to play the fifth Test match against each other and that would be the last chance for Men in Blue to draw the five Test match series. The fifth Test match is scheduled to start from January 3-7 and Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney will host this clash.