The former Indian pace bowling all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, broke the silence on being removed from the commentary of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Social media raised the question that the veteran was snubbed out of the T20 league for targeting a few players who didn’t perform well in the last few years, and Rohit Sharma came out in discussion.

Rohit missed the opening clash of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth due to the birth of his child before returning from the second clash in Adelaide. He had a very poor time with 31 runs in six innings at an average of around six before stepping down from the fifth Sydney Test. The former Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, broke down the entire scenario.

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“Rohit Sharma is a great player of white-ball cricket, but that year, in red-ball cricket, he had an average of around six. So, I said that if he wasn’t the captain, then he would have been dropped by then. People think that I favor Rohit Sharma. Now, in general, when a player comes to the broadcasting team for an interview, we won’t behave badly with them.” Irfan expressed during a recent podcast on Lallantop’s show, Guest in the Newsroom.

Watch: Irfan Pathan reveals reason for losing commentary contract after criticism of Rohit Sharma

Pathan feels that the job of the commentators would always be to tell the story beyond what’s visible, and that was exactly when he did. He also revealed that he wanted Rohit to fight for his spot.

Irfan Pathan confirms he was removed from commentary upon complaint from Rohit Sharma’s PR agency for calling Rohit a “burden” on the teampic.twitter.com/ZG0OS9Hdkj

— Abhinav (@KohliArchives) August 14, 2025

“Rohit came to the interview, and we showed good spirit. He is our guest after all. We also told that Rohit should fight for his spot, but he doesn’t deserve a place in the playing eleven. Look, I believe that the job of commentators is to tell the story beyond what is visible, what is happening, why it is happening, and why it is happening.” The Baroda player addressed.

“If a player performs well, then praise him. If he cannot do so, then criticize him. The responsibility of the commentator is not for the player but for the fans.” Irfan Pathan concluded, as Rohit, reportedly, found himself at a tough spot to retire from ODIs, having already hung up the shoes from T20Is and Tests.