Irfan Pathan recalls Gary Kirsten’s ‘exact words’ that confirmed MS Dhoni’s role in his snub
Famous for its swing and sensitivity, Irfan not only made a name as a reliable small door buyer in all formats, but also drew attention with his brave stroke style. Irfan was a member of the team that organized the first T20 World Cup in South Africa, led by Dhoni.
When Irfan Pathan appeared in the jack, people had great hopes for him. At the age of 19, he played the first test match in Australia, a difficult place for newcomers. Soon how aggressive, swing and precise was noticed. He was put on the ODI team in a year and became a regular player in every form of the game. He even played in 2006 in India’s first T20 match against South Africa.
However, things changed in 2009. A year ago, he was left out of the test team and then fell from the ODI team after a series against Sri Lanka. This was a big hit. In this format, he did not play for three years, and then the ODIs were more important than T20s.
He returned in 2012, but the Indian fast bowling group has changed. Players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma were regular. Irfan played only 12 more ODI before his international career ended. He retired in 2020. Five years later, Irfan talks about why he left the national team. At the same time a good striker in the lower order left arm Bowler said he was left out and Ms. Dhoni called on him to make him a bench.
“In 2009, when we were in New Zealand. Before that. My brother (Yusuf Pathan) and I won matches in Sri Lanka. The situation we had won-if we were in our place, they would not fall for a year. Chat with Thellantop.
“In New Zealand, I was a bench for the first match, the second match and the third match. The fourth match was a lottery because of the rain. I wasn’t in the last match. Then I asked Gary Sir.
At that time, he served as Kirsten’s head coach, and Irfan explained how the South African’s statement played a role in the exclusion of Dhoni.
“Kirsten gave me two reasons. He said, ‘I have things that I don’t have.’ I asked Gary was in his hands.
“The second answer was looking for a versatile stroke in number 7. A Fair-Marderator had a versatile shot when making a versatile bowling. The two were different, but the team had only one place for one.
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