'Sab barabar chal raha hai' - MS Dhoni's response to Irfan Pathan when the all-rounder asked about his statement to media

Irfan Pathan, the former all-rounder bid adieu to international cricket back in 2019 after getting ignored by the selectors for around 8 years. Now he has come out and said that he never got enough backing from his skipper and selectors that he deserved after he was designated with a new role in bowling.

The all-rounder arrived in the international scene back in 2003 and hogged the spotlight on the back of his swing bowling. He had mastered the art of moving the ball in both the directions and batsmen used to struggle against him. Irfan attracted the headlines after he grabbed a hat-trick against Pakistan back in 2006. Also, he won Man of the Match in 2007 T20 World Cup final for taking three wickets.

Irfan Pathan says he got a different role in Team India before getting dropped

In 2012, he was suddenly dropped from the squad and never got selected by the selectors. In an interview with SportsTak, he said that he was given a different role as a bowler in the side by the management and skipper. As per him, at that time he deserved a backing from his skipper that he never got.

Before getting dropped, critics and cricket pundits used to say that Irfan lost his swing. He also threw light over the same and said that he was bowling as a first change bowler and not with the new ball.

“So now it is the captain’s role to back him because you had only changed his role. So I think, I did not get the backing there. I had Man-of-the-Match in my last ODI, last T20I. People who say, I wasn’t getting the swing need to know that I was bowling first change. So the role was changed,” former Indian all-rounder said.

He also gave an example saying that Wriddhiman Saha didn’t play in the national side for almost a year. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant was given the responsibility to take the gloves behind the stumps. But as soon as Saha returned the Delhiite was dropped from the side.

“I remember, Wriddhiman Saha made it to the Indian team without playing cricket for a year. Rishabh Pant had hit a 200 in Saha’s absence, but still, Saha was recalled. So, some players are backed, some are not, some are fortunate and I was among the unfortunate ones.” he added.

When Irfan Pathan questioned MS Dhoni

Irfan also mentioned that he once asked MS Dhoni, the then skipper of Team India that what he meant by saying in the media that he didn’t bowl well in Australia. Also, he asked him how he can improve going into the future.

“I had talked to Mahi about it. I also talked to him about the statement he made about me during the 2008 Australia series that Irfan wasn’t bowling well. I bowled well in the whole series, so I asked him for clarification and what could I do to get better. But MS was like ‘aisa kuch bhi nahi, sab barabar chal raha hai’. Then, I understood that media twists statements sometimes,” he added.

The dejected former all-rounder cited the fact that how a bowler winning a match for his side can be dropped from the very next game. Coming to Irfan Pathan’s career, he won Man of the Match in his last appearance while playing for Team India.

“I remember getting dropped after winning the game in Sri Lanka in 2008, who gets dropped after winning the game for the country. Which match-winner is made to sit outside, but I did,” he questioned.