Irfan Pathan Breaks Silence On Why He Was Sacked From IPL Commentary, Talks In Details About 3 Superstars

NDTV

a day ago

Irfan Pathan is not only a T20 World Cup-winning cricketer but he is also known for his elocution in the commentary box. Over the last few years he has been working with top broadcasters during important series. So, it came as a surprise when he was not in the panel for commentary during IPL 2025 opening mach. According to a report in TOI then, Irfan was snubbed from the panel as the "broadcasters were not happy with him bringing in personal grudges on-air and even on his social media handle." However, in recent times, he has done commentary during important series including the India vs England contest.
Irfan Pathan has finally broken his silence on being replaced in the commentary panel. "See, I believe that as a broadcaster, when the commentary is going on and the fans are watching the match, you have to go ahead of the visuals and speak about what's happening. The broadcaster and commentator's work is - what is happening and why it is happening. What can happen and how? If a player is doing exceptionally well, you praise him, and if they are not performing well, then criticize him. The commentators' responsibility is towards the fans, not players,' he said on Lallantop.
He was then specifically asked about three players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya.
"If you look at my social media, there was Virat Kohli's slump in 2019-20. At that time, it was said that it was the time of COVID, and he wasn't getting inspiration. I thought that when a player of big stature undergoes their first slump, then they should be backed. If you look at my social media, I backed him a lot. One, he deserved it, and won a lot of matches. If the slump continues for five years, then it's not right,' Pathan said.
'Rohit Sharma is an amazing player in white-ball cricket, but his average in Test cricket that year was 6, so we said that if he was not the captain, he would not have had a place in the team, and this is true.
'People say that we supported Rohit Sharma more than necessary. Of course, when someone comes to interview on your broadcasting channel, you will not misbehave with them, right? You have invited him, so you will behave politely. When Rohit came to interview, we were, of course, polite, and we had to show that, because he was our guest. So that was connected and said we were supporting him, but it was we who said...we had said that he should keep fighting, but that said, he should not have had a place in the playing XI. If he was not the captain of the team, he would have been dropped.'
Then, the anchor expressed his 'Hardik ichha' to know about the issue. No player's name was taken but the hint was clear that the player in question was Hardik Pandya.
Pathan replied: "You expressed 'Hardik iccha' to know aboutt he There are 14 matches in IPL. If I have criticised 7 times, then I have gone soft 7 times. You (Hardik) have made a mistake 14 times, I have shown you seven times. This is our job."
During the IPL 2024, Pandya had gone from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians, replacing Rohit Sharma as captain. Pathan said he always supported Pandya in this phase when asked if there was a rivalry between him and the star allrounder.
"There is no rivalry. All the players of Baroda who have come up, be it Deepak Hooda, Swapnil Singh, Hardik-Krunal. None of them can say that Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan did not support us. Be it his early days or some other time. No one could have done this even two years ago," Pathan said.
"We helped them in every way, from sponsorship to shoes. We talked to people to give opportunities to these players. No one can question us. Some time ago VVS Laxman said this on Star Sports, 'I admit that I did not listen to Irfan. If I had listened to him in 2012, Hardik would have played for Sunrisers Hyderabad.'
"The people who run it run any story. Today every player has PR. Everyone has their own story. But I say that if any player has played even a single match for India, I respect and support him completely. As a broadcaster, the responsibility is not towards the players but towards the viewers.
"I used a soft hand seven times because it is important to control your emotions in broadcasting. You know he is also a human being. I also opposed the derogatory words used for Hardik. I said if you want to criticize, criticize the players. As long as cricketers play, they will be criticized. Sachin was criticized, Gavaskar was criticized. These words are not right. You should not use such words. I said this live. But an atmosphere was created over other small things."