‘Fan war? PR lobby?’: Irfan Pathan after old interview on Dhoni resurfaces

NEW DELHI: Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan posted a cryptic message on Wednesday after an old interview resurfaced online, where he was seen taking an alleged indirect dig at then-captain MS Dhoni over the abrupt end of his career.

Pathan said that his remarks had been “twisted”. In a post on X, Pathan wrote, “Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?”

Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 3, 2025

In the old interview, now viral on social media, Pathan recalled the 2008 tour of Australia when Dhoni reportedly told the media that Irfan was not bowling well. Pathan, however, had taken eight wickets in the Test series at an average of 28.62, and later claimed 11 wickets in 10 matches during the Commonwealth Bank tri-series, making him the fifth-highest wicket-taker.

“I asked him. During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai’s statement came out in the media that Irfan was not bowling well. I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai. Sometimes statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify. Mahi bhai said, ‘No, Irfan, there is nothing like this, everything’s going as per plans”, Pathan had said during the interview.

“When you get a reply like this, you believe that, okay, you do what you can. Also, if you keep asking for explanations again and again after that, you hurt your self-respect. Pathano to izzat apni izzat pyaari hoti hai (Pathans value their self-respect)”, Pathan added.

Ms dhoni used to select those players who set hukka for him, i denied and i got dropped – Irfan Pathan pic.twitter.com/tlbFPvYZNU

— Popa (@rafalekohli) September 1, 2025

He had further said, “I do not have a habit of setting up a hookah in someone’s room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes, if you do not speak about it, it is better. A cricketer’s job is to perform on the field, and that is what I used to focus on”.

During the Commonwealth Bank tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka, which followed later, Pathan was the fifth-highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 34.18, with best figures of 4/41. In the Test series before that, he had taken eight wickets at an average of 28.62, with best figures of 3/54.

Notably, Pathan did not play the first two Test matches of the series, as pacers Zaheer Khan and R P Singh were chosen. His final game for India came in the T20I format, during which he took a wicket for 26 runs in three overs in October 2012. During his final ODI for India in August that year, he had taken a five-wicket haul.

In his 173 career for India from 2003-12, Pathan scored 2,821 runs in 141 innings at an average of 26.12, with a century and 11 fifties and also took 301 wickets at an average of 29.85, with best figures of 7/59. He took a total of nine five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls in his career. (ANI)