Former Indian all-rounder and current cricket expert Irfan Pathan was known for his bowling, but he also contributed with the bat whenever needed. There was a time when he got the chance to bat at number three for Team India, and on several occasions, he impressed in that role. However, in a recent revelation, Irfan disclosed that when he was once promoted to bat at number three, a senior teammate became very upset. He clarified that the player was neither Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, nor VVS Laxman.
In an interview with The Lallantop, Irfan, without naming the player, said: “I didn’t say anything; I was quite young at the time. It was a player who thought he was a better batsman than me. There’s no point in taking names and disrespecting anyone. In cricket, there are no permanent friendships or rivalries. The question was always, ‘Why is he being sent to bat ahead of me?’”
The 40-year-old further clarified that the senior player in question was not part of Indian cricket’s ‘Fab Five’. He added: “It wasn’t Dada (Sourav Ganguly). In fact, Dada was the kind of person who sacrificed his position for others.”
He continued, “Yes, but let me make it clear — it wasn’t Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, or Sachin Tendulkar. That player believed he was a more capable batsman, and even the captain listened to him and promoted him ahead of me. But in that particular match, he got out early.”
Throughout his career, Irfan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is, scoring 1,105, 1,544, and 172 runs respectively. The left-hander registered one century and six half-centuries in Tests, along with five half-centuries in ODIs.
Pathan also recalled an interesting incident when Sachin Tendulkar once asked him to bat at number three to counter Anil Kumble. He said: “In a Duleep Trophy match, Sachin told me to go in at number three. He wanted me to counterattack if Anil Kumble came on to bowl. He knew that someone like Kumble, a match-winner, could trouble us. Sachin thought that if, as a lower-order batsman, I managed to hit a few shots, Kumble might get frustrated and change his plan.”