A fan requests BCCI to call Irfan Pathan back from retirement; all-rounder gives a classic response

Irfan Pathan had announced his retirement from cricket a few months back bringing an end to a chequered career. Pathan had made a big splash when he made his debut in 2003-04 on the tour of Australia, with the highlight being his amazing yorker to rattle Adam Gilchrist’s stumps. He was pegged to be the next Kapil Dev thanks to him being groomed as a batsman as well.

But injuries and form issues, especially after the Greg Chappell era led to Irfan losing his place in the team and his last match came in 2012 for India in a T20I against South Africa. His last FC match came for Jammu and Kashmir in February 2019 and last played in IPL for Rising Pune Supergiant. But he turned back the clock in the ongoing Road Safety World Series 2020 where he plays for India Legends team led by Sachin Tendulkar.

Fan wants Irfan Pathan to return to the Indian team; the all-rounder replies

Irfan Pathan was at the forefront of the India Legends match against Sri Lanka played on March 10. Pathan had picked one wicket, having Romesh Kaluwitharana trapped in front of the stumps as India won the toss and chose to bowl first. However, his biggest contribution came with the bat, as he made a brilliant 57* with 3 sixes and 6 fours in just 39 balls helping his team win by 5 wickets and eight balls to spare.

This performance even got a response from fans and one such fan even asked the BCCI in a tweet, whether they can bring back Irfan Pathan into the Indian team, given that the all-rounder is just 35 years old and visibly fit enough to play international cricket. The fan even gave the example of South Africa’s AB de Villiers, who retired from cricket in May 2018 and is now bidding for a return to Proteas’ side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2020.

The fan tweeted, “Dear @BCCI can’t we ask @IrfanPathan to return back like @ABdeVilliers17 ??”. To this Irfan Pathan lovingly responded, “Haha too late I guess.”

Haha too late I guess

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 11, 2020

Munaf Patel had starred with the ball picking 4/19 and helping India Legends restrict Sri Lanka Legends to 138/8 with Dilshan and Kapugedera top-scoring with 23 runs each. In response, India lost three wickets for 19 runs including Sachin Tendulkar for a duck. But Mohammad Kaif with 46, and Sanjay Bangar with 18 stabilized the innings until Pathan’s unbeaten half-century led India to victory.