'Thank you for fulfilling one of my cherished wishes' - Irfan Pathan reacts to Preity Zinta's tweet

Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Saturday, bringing down curtains on an unfulfilled yet a cherished career that was filled with numerous immortal moments that have proceeded to impinge into the cricketing folklore. Pathan was one of its kind. He may have turned out to be an unfulfilled dream but the southpaw-in his prime- proceeded to gain the status of a cult hero, a status mainly enjoyed by the batsmen in India. Pathan was one of the spearheads in a lot of historic moments that Indian cricket enjoyed in the 2000s.

And, so with him announcing his retirement, wishes galore for the all-rounder from all corners of the world. Joining the bandwagon is Irfan’s former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owner Preity Zinta. Irfan, who featured for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the first three seasons, enjoyed his most productive stint with the Zinta-led franchise where he claimed 15, 17 and 15 wickets respectively in the opening three seasons. 

Preity Zinta thanks Irfan for helping her understanding the basics of the game

Priety Zinta took to Twitter where she wished Irfan Pathan all the very best for his future endeavours while also reminiscing about the early days of the Indian Premier League where according to the Bollywood actress, the southpaw helped her a lot in learning the basic intricacies of the game.

“I learned so many things about the game from you when IPL started. You have always been an amazing person and a team player. Thank you for the wonderful memories @IrfanPathan  All the very best for your second innings. Much love always #ting,” wrote Zinta.

Irfan Pathan also duly responded to the Bollywood diva and termed her as an amazing friend to have. “Pzzzzz you were awesome as a team owner and you are most amazing as a friend. Thank you for fulfilling one of my cherished wish,” Irfan’s reply read.

Talking about Irfan Pathan’s career, one of the most memorable moments of his career has got to be the hat-trick that he claimed against Pakistan in Karachi back in 2006. But according to the southpaw, while it may be a special achievement but it is not something that likes to remember much, considering the fact that Team India eventually went to lose not only the match but also the Test series.

Irfan is one of those unfortunate cricketers who claimed more than 300 International wickets but still did not get a chance to play in a single 50-over World Cup encounter. He was included in the 2007 World Cup squad but couldn’t break into the playing XI. He, however, more than compensated for it with a match-winning spell in the T20 World Cup final later that year.