MS Dhoni to blame? Irfan Pathan hints at career-threatening selection call in 2009

India Today

13 hours ago

Irfan Pathan explained how MS Dhoni played a key role in his 2009 exclusion from the Indian team, despite some strong performances. Pathan burst onto the scene as a teenager for the Indian team and proved himself as a trustworthy all-rounder. However, his fairytale run with the side would have an unexpected twist when he was dropped from the team in 2009.advertisementSpeaking to Lallantop, Pathan narrated a story from 2009 where he went up to then-India coach Gary Kirsten to ask why he wasn't part of the playing XI for the series against New Zealand. The all-rounder had put up a strong performance during the Sri Lanka series, before the one against the Blackcaps.Also Read: Did Rohit Sharma pull a PR stunt with Sydney Test snub? Irfan Pathan breaks silence
The former all-rounder said he wanted to know the reason why he was left out of the side, as he could work on any shortcomings and come back stronger.'It was back in 2009, when we were in New Zealand. Before that, my brother (Yusuf Pathan) and I had won matches in Sri Lanka. The situation in which we had pulled a win – if it had been anyone else in our place, they wouldn't have been dropped for a year. In that match against Sri Lanka, we needed 60 runs from just 27–28 balls, and we won it from there,' said Pathan.'In New Zealand, I was benched for the first match, the second match, and the third match as well. The fourth match was a draw because of rain. I wasn't in the final match either. Then I asked Gary sir why I had been dropped. If there was something I needed to improve, he could tell me, but I wanted to know the reason I was left out.'Kirsten's two reasonsPathan continued by saying that Kirsten gave him two reasons that led to his omission. The former all-rounder said that the first was because of 'things that were not in his hands' at the time. Pathan said that he understood it was Dhoni who had made the call, as the then-captain made the final call on the playing XI.'Kirsten gave me two reasons. He said, 'There are things that are not in my hand.' Those were Gary's exact words. I asked whose hands it was in, but he didn't tell me. I already knew whose hands it was in. The playing XI is decided by the captain's choice. The decision rests with the captain, coach, and management. Dhoni was the captain at that time. I won't get into whether that decision was right or wrong, because every captain has the right to run the team in his own way,' said Pathan.advertisementThe former cricketer said that the second reason Kirsten gave was that the team was looking for a batting all-rounder at the time at No.7, a role which went to his brother Yusuf.'The second answer was that they were looking for a batting all-rounder at No. 7. Fair enough — my brother was a batting all-rounder, while I was a bowling all-rounder. The two were different from each other, but there was only room for one in the team. Nowadays, if you ask whether two all-rounders are needed, people would gladly take both," said Pathan.Pathan would make a comeback to the ODI team in 2011 and went on to represent India in 12 matches the following year. The former all-rounder scored 172 runs and 19 wickets in 2012, which proved to be his final year in international cricket.Pathan's career finally came to an end in 2020 when he announced retirement from all forms of the game.- Ends