Last Update on: September 2nd, 2023 at 03:34 pm
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan recently reacted to former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad’s controversial statement during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2003-04. Irfan Pathan highlighted that his performances later earned him respect and recognition from Javed Miandad.
Javed Miandad, who was the head coach of the national cricket team then, said that bowlers like Ifran Pathan could be found on every street in Pakistan. The former Indian pacer picked up eight wickets in three ODIs with an impressive average of 17.88 and an economy rate of 4.77.
I Feel That Was Pretty Special – Irfan Pathan
During a pre-match show on Star Sports on Saturday, Irfan Pathan opened up about how his performances in Pakistan earned him respect and recognition from Javed Miandad.
“The great Javed Miandad had said something about me. He said, ‘bowlers like Irfan are found in every street of Pakistan’. And how it actually panned out, and how it actually gave respect to me when I did well there… I feel that was pretty special,” said Pathan.
Pathan is widely recognized for his remarkable hat-trick in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006. During that memorable moment, he dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf consecutively with successive deliveries in the first over of the match.
India Opt To Bat First Afer Winning The Toss In Pallekele
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, September 7. Mohammed Shami was the notable exclusion from India’s playing XI for their first game of the tournament.
Pakistan, on the other hand, retained their playing XI from the last game. Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf have been declared fit and included in the playing XI despite being taken off the field in their last match against Nepal in Multan.
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Also read: IND vs PAK: Irfan Pathan Wants Indian Bowlers To Be Aggressive Against Pakistan