Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are making mistakes, they have not met their own expectations: Irfan Pathan

India went 1-2 down in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 after losing the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Monday, December 30, by 184 runs. On Day 5, the Asian giants were set a target of 340 in 92 overs. While a win for India seemed highly unlikely, the two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists would have hoped to save the Test match and head into the final encounter in Sydney with the series tied at 1-1. However, they were bowled out for 155 in 79.1 overs.

Batters have let India down on quite a few occasions during the high-voltage series. While youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy have stepped up, veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma haven't lived up to their potential. The Indian captain has only scored 31 runs from five innings at a dismal average of 6.20 in the series so far. Meanwhile, Kohli has failed to solve his long-standing problems with deliveries pitched outside his off-stump.

Irfan Pathan was disappointed after the Delhi batter was dismissed while poking at deliveries outside the off-stump in both innings of the Melbourne Test. The former India all-rounder urged Kohli to bring more discipline to his game.

"Both the seniors (Rohit and Virat) did not meet expectations. They did not meet their own expectations at all. They are making mistakes. The shot by Virat Kohli—this is neither the first time nor the last time. He is not letting go of the temptation to drive outside the off stump. He has been doing this for many years. Everyone is saying the same thing. Virat Kohli also knows this. We all talk about his discipline—why can’t he bring that discipline onto the field?" Pathan said while speaking on Star Sports.

If he were not the captain, he might not be playing right now: Pathan

Pathan highlighted Rohit's abysmal form during the series and said that the Mumbai batter might not have found a place in the playing XI had he not been the skipper of the side.

"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.

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"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. 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," he added.