&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'I don’t have a habit of setting up hookah': Irfan Pathan takes indirect aim at former skipper")
Former India bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan took a dig at MS Dhoni as he dropped a bombshell reflecting on his bitter-sour relationship with the ex-India captain. Irfan, who was handed his India debut by Sourav Ganguly in the 2003-04 Australian tour, was India’s main-stay all-rounder in all formats but dropped down the pecking order before the 2011 ODI World Cup. However, his one remark during the interview did make headlines, accusing the former skipper of favouritism and a biased approach.
Irfan takes dig at former skipper
“During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai’s statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn’t bowling well. So I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai about this. Sometimes, the statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify,” Irfan said while speaking to Sports Tak.
Irfan, who was down the pecking order during Dhoni’s reign as captain, was not picked for the 2011 ODI World Cup; instead, his spot went to elder brother Yusuf and Suresh Raina was preferred as a back-up option.
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“I don’t have a habit of setting up hookah in someone’s room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes if you don’t speak about it, it’s better. A cricketer’s job is to perform on the field and that is what I used to focus on,” Irfan added while speaking to Sports Tak.
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Irfan has been in the headlines in recent weeks having also lifted lid on number of incidents during his playing career when he spoke to The Lallantop. He stated that it was Sachin Tendulkar who asked Rahul Dravid and then coach Greg Chappell asked Irfan to bat at No.3 in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in 2005.
