Not Kohli Or Rohit! This Indian Cricketer Is Behind Irfan Pathan's Sacking From IPL Commentary
Irfan Pathan clarified his removal from the IPL broadcast team was due to criticism of Hardik Pandya, not Kohli or Sharma, stressing on his support for Baroda players.
Before the start of IPL 2025, there was much speculation about players being unhappy with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan's on-air criticism. Reports suggested that Pathan was removed from the IPL broadcast team after he spoke critically about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the Australia Test series in December 2024.
However, Irfan has now revealed that the reality was different — it wasn't Kohli or Rohit who had an issue with his remarks, but another senior member of the Indian team setup: Hardik Pandya.
In an interview with The Lallantop, Irfan clarified that his comments about Pandya were not overly harsh given his role as a broadcaster. 'If I'm criticising you in 7 matches out of 14, I'm still being lenient. That is our job as broadcaster," he explained in the interview.
Irfan insisted there was no personal rivalry between them and emphasised that he has always supported cricketers from Baroda.
'There is no rivalry. All the Baroda players who have come after me — Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya or Hardik Pandya — none of them can say that Irfan-Yusuf did not help them."
To highlight his past support for Hardik, Irfan recalled an incident from 2012 when he recommended the young all-rounder to Sunrisers Hyderabad. According to Irfan, VVS Laxman later admitted that he regretted not listening to Irfan's advice at the time.
'VVS Laxman admitted on Star Sports, that he was at fault for not listening to me, and not picking Hardik in 2012. If he had picked him then, Hardik would have played for Hyderabad," Pathan revealed.
Irfan also pointed out that he has defended Hardik in the past, even during moments of heavy public criticism. He mentioned the backlash Hardik faced from Mumbai Indians fans after Rohit Sharma was removed from captaincy ahead of IPL 2024. 'I took a stand then and said nothing bad should be said about the player," Irfan recalled.
While Irfan maintained that criticism is a natural part of a player's career — citing legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, who also faced scrutiny — he drew a line at personal attacks.
'There is nothing wrong in criticising the player, if you play, you have to go through that. It happened with Sunil Gavaskar, the great Sachin Tendulkar… they never made anyone feel, they were bigger than the game. But I'm against the derogatory words used against Pandya." he said.
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