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Former India National Cricket Team pacer Irfan Pathan has opened up about the online trolling and abuse against him that was run in Pakistan after a false narrative that Babar Azam refused to give an interview to the cricketer-turned commentator. Someone from the neighbouring country photoshopped his face onto someone else's picture and ran the story.
Irfan Pathan has had a long-standing beef with some cricketers in Pakistan. He has always taken a dig at Pakistan cricket over their poor performances and sometimes trolled the Men in Green as well. However, he has never targeted any cricketer and abused him or trolled him openly. He has openly criticized the cricketers and the team’s performances.
Irfan Pathan opens up on fake trolling and abuse
While speaking on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles', he said that he does not give attention to any kind of trolls and abuse. He believes replying to such stories and to every rumour would make it impossible to live peacefully.
"The trolling and fake attribution happen every day. The media in our neighbouring country once ran a story claiming that I had gone to interview Babar Azam, and that he refused because, according to him, 'He trolls our country, so I won't give him an interview.' It was a complete lie. Someone had photoshopped my face onto a picture," he said.
"This happens every day, but I don't respond"- Irfan Pathan opens up on online trolling
Irfan Pathan also stated that the original photo was of a reporter from Bangladesh who went to the ground for a first-time interview, and the current Test captain Babar Azam refused to give him an interview, and Pakistani people put Irfan’s face on his body to create a controversy, as it got millions of views.
"The person in the original image was a young Bangladeshi reporter who had gone to the ground for the first time and was refused an interview. They literally put my face on his body and spread the story. It got over a million views, and people believed it was me."
"This happens every day, but I don't respond. Every day, some lie is told in our name or about some player. If you keep responding to everyone, you won't be able to live your life," he added.
Babar Azam helps Pakistan to get back to winning ways
Babar Azam was re-appointed as the Test captain after Pakistan’s poor performance under Shan Masood. The former, after being appointed as the Test captain, won his second Test match against West Indies, and despite losing the first game, they drew the series against the Windies on Wednesday at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.
This was Pakistan’s first Test victory away from home in three years, and this victory ended an eight-match away losing streak. After the win, Pakistan have gone up one place in the World Test Championship (WTC) 20225-2027 points table with 22.22 PCT above West Indies, who are currently at the bottom of the table.
For Babar Azam’s side, it is nearly impossible to qualify for the top 2 of the WTC points table and play their first final.
