Irfan Pathan, a former Indian cricketer, has revealed stunning details about his interview with Rohit Sharma for the official broadcaster in Sydney, after he opted to sit out of the fifth and final Test against Australia.

Despite the then-India Test captain's scant appearances in the format during the previous three series, Pathan said they were forced to endorse him openly.

Pathan praised Rohit's exceptional white-ball skills but drew attention to his dismal Test results. The 37-year-old only managed 164 runs in eight Test matches against Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh last year, including one half-century.

Rohit's 6.20 average throughout the three games he played on the Australian tour was the lowest ever by a visiting skipper in Australia (minimum five innings).

Pathan stressed that had Rohit not been the captain, he would likely have been benched after such performances.

“Rohit Sharma is an amazing player in white-ball cricket, but his average in Test cricket that year was 6, so we said that if he were not the captain, he would not have had a place in the team, and this is true,” Irfan Pathan stated on the Lallantop show.

Rohit was left out of the Sydney series finale due to growing criticism and concerns over his future in Test cricket. In an interview, Rohit emphasized that he had willingly opted to "opt out," despite many speculating that he had been dropped.

In that interview, Pathan disclosed that they were forced to openly support Rohit Sharma even though they knew his spot in the starting lineup was uncertain.

"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. 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 we were supporting him, but it was we who said...we had said that he should keep fighting, but that said, he should not have had a place in the playing XI. If he was not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped," he said.

Here is the video: