Rohit Sharma came back really hard after 2011 World Cup snub, opines Irfan Pathan

After making his debut in the 2007 Future Cup, the right-handed batsman found himself slotted straight into the middle-order setup in the ODI format. First off his big knocks came in the loss against Pakistan, where the Nagpur-born batsman scored a 61-ball 52. Despite piling 504 runs in the 14 innings in 2010, at an average of 38.76, the right-hander looked well-set to be part of the Indian setup for the home World Cup in 2011. 

However, Rohit Sharma did not make the cut to be part of the Indian team in 2011, before making his big comeback in 2013 Champions Trophy at the top of the order. Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan admitted that the Mumbai opener came back really hard into the Indian set-up after the 2011 World Cup snub. 

"He got the beating of not playing the World Cup and then came back really hard because of a strong mind set after 2012," Pathan was quoted as saying by Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

"He used to always talk about working hard and he used to always talk about the team first as well, that is why you see some of the results he got as the captain of the Mumbai Indians team,” he added. 

In the past, the 33-year-old has been heavily criticized for his ‘relaxed’ attitude when batting for the country. However, Pathan reckoned that his relaxed attitude does not equate to Rohit not putting in hard work. 

"A lot of people are mistaken when they see a guy who has a lot of time and he is slightly more relaxed than compared to Rohit. Then you say he needs to work hard," Pathan added.