Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has said that although the anchors and presenters were cordial with Rohit Sharma during his interview with the host broadcasters after he dropped himself from the Sydney Test, everyone knew he didn’t deserve a place in the playing XI. In a teaser video released by Lallantop on Wednesday, Irfan acknowledged Rohit’s white-ball brilliance but highlighted his poor Test performances. Across eight Tests in 2024 against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia, Rohit scored only 164 runs, with a single fifty. Irfan pointed out that if Rohit were not the skipper, his performances could have seen him dropped from the playing XI. “Rohit Sharma is an amazing player in white-ball cricket, but his average in Tests that year was six, so we said that if he was not the skipper, he wouldn’t have had a place in the team and this is true,” Irfan said. Amidst growing criticism and doubts over his Test future, Rohit was left out of the Sydney series finale. “People say that we supported Rohit Sharma more than necessary. Of course, when someone comes to interview on your broadcasting channel, you will not misbehave with them, right? You have invited him, so you will behave politely,” Irfan said. “When Rohit came to interview, we were, of course, polite and we had to show that, because he was our guest. So that was connected and said that we were supporting him, but it was we who said…we had said that he should keep fighting, but that said, he shouldn’t have had a place in the playing XI,” Irfan added. Rohit’s decision to sit out of the Sydney Test should not be misconstrued as a retirement decision, he had said. “This decision is not a retirement decision. Nor am I going to take myself out of the game,” Rohit said while speaking to Star Sports. But four months later, in May, he announced his retirement from Tests.