Irfan Pathan exposes ugly physical altercation with senior India player in dressing room over batting order
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Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has recently been vocal about several of his unpleasant experiences during his playing days, and the latest one is even more shocking, as he claims physical confrontation from a senior batter over an altercation related to batting position.
Irfan Pathan, the left-handed all-rounder from India, had earned quite a bit of fame with his early debut as a young and dynamic 19-year-old pacer under Sourav Ganguly's leadership. He made his debut ahead of players like Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, and his brother Yusuf Pathan.
In very little time, he proclaimed himself as one of India's game-changing bowling all-rounders with his ability to swing the ball on both sides and handy batting lower down the order.
Irfan Pathan drops another bombshell from the Indian dressing room
Recently, Irfan Pathan has been voicing some moments of intense tension surrounding him in the Indian team during his playing days. Recently, all of his revelations have mostly been made on Lallantop. The recent massive claim states a lesser-known incident from the Indian dressing room.
Irfan Pathan claimed that a senior batter in the team who thought he was a better player than Irfan confronted the all-rounder and held his collar when the management and skipper decided to send him to bat at no. 3. Though not revealed, he possibly hinted that the incident happened in a game, possibly against Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
“I didn't say anything; I was quite young. He was someone who thought he was a better batter than me. There is no point in disrespecting someone by taking names. There is no permanent friendship or rivalry in cricket,” Irfan Pathan said, recalling the incident during a chat with TheLallantop.
"It was said, 'Yeh kyu mere se upar jaa raha hai batting karne?' (Why is he batting above me?)," Irfan recalled, as he remembered words from a senior batter back during his playing days.
Pathan excludes 'Indian legends' from controversy over batting position
When asked if the jersey was pulled in frustration or if it was just a light-hearted confrontation between teammates, Irfan confirmed that "yes, and that was a senior player."
When the host made his attempts to inquire about the name of the cricketer, Pathan clearly said he does not want to reveal the name, as rivalries are never forever in the game of cricket.
But when he was questioned over whether it was someone among the Indian legends, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, or VVS Laxman. Pathan confirmed it was none among these big five.
"It wasn't Dada. In fact, Dada was someone who sacrificed his own position for others."
“I will make this clear that it wasn't Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, or Sachin Tendulkar. He thought he was a more capable batter, and the captain also listened to him and promoted him, but he got out early in that match,” Pathan said.
Pathan claimed MS Dhoni conspired to drop him without explanation
Recently, in a conversation with The Lallantop, Pathan revealed an incident from his playing days when he was removed from the Indian Playing XI for an entire ODI series, and no reasons were revealed for the snub.
That dates back to the New Zealand series in 2009, when India needed just one all-rounder and preferred batting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan over Irfan since he was the bowling all-rounder. He also named MS Dhoni to be behind the snub, and even Gary Kirsten remained silent over the issue.
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