Despite being part of the MS Dhoni-led T20 World Cup-winning squad in 2007, Irfan Pathan still couldn’t hold onto the national side for long and was overlooked after the 2012 edition of World T20 in Sri Lanka. As a result, the 35-year-old announced his retirement in early January 2020.
Opening up on his omission, Irfan had some valid questions up his sleeves and mentioned how he once confronted then skipper Dhoni for his statement on the pacer’s form in front of the media.
In an interview with Sports Tak, Irfan told, “I had Man-of-the-Match in my last ODI, last T20I. People who say, I wasn’t getting the swing need to know that I was bowling first change. So the role was changed. I remember, Wriddhiman Saha made it to the Indian team without playing cricket for a year. Rishabh Pant had hit a 200 in Saha’s absence, but still, Saha was recalled. So, some players are backed, some are not, some are fortunate and I was among the unfortunate ones.”
He further opined, “I had talked to Mahi (MS Dhoni) about it. I also talked to him about the statement he made about me during the 2008 Australia series that Irfan wasn’t bowling well. So I asked him that I was bowling well in the whole series, so I asked him for clarification and what could I do to get better.
I remember getting dropped after winning the game in Sri Lanka in 2008, who gets dropped after winning the game for the country. Which match-winner is made to sit outside, but I did,” added the former Indian all-rounder.
