Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opened up about the much-talked-about interview of Rohit Sharma at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the fifth and final Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
At that time, Rohit, who was India’s Test captain, had opted out of the Sydney Test due to a poor run of form. The opener had also missed the series opener while on paternity leave and went on to score only 31 runs in the three Tests he played in the series. His average of 6.20 was the lowest ever by a visiting captain in Australia (minimum five innings), sparking debate over his place in the XI for the decider.
“If He Wasn’t Captain, He Would Have Been Dropped” – Pathan
Pathan, who was the interviewer during the Sydney Test, revealed that the broadcasters had to maintain a respectful tone toward Rohit despite his struggles in red-ball cricket. He admitted that if Rohit had not been the skipper, the management would likely have dropped him.
“𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓’𝒔 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 6. 𝑰𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉,” 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒑 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒑.𝒗
“You Have Invited Him, So You Must Be Polite”
Responding to claims that the broadcasters were overly supportive of Rohit, Pathan clarified that it was simply a matter of basic courtesy.
“𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆. 𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
This match ultimately marked Rohit Sharma’s final Test tour, as he announced his retirement from red-ball cricket on May 7, 2025. He ended his career with 4301 runs in 67 Tests at an average of 40.58, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties.
Also Read: Sohans vs Pakistan Shaheens: Live Streaming and TV Guide for Today’s Match
