 "'That is our job': Irfan Pathan reveals who was behind his sacking as IPL commentator, not Kohli or Rohit")
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has finally spoken about his sudden exit from the IPL 2025 commentary panel. Many fans thought that legendary players Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma were behind it, but Pathan cleared the air in an interview with The Lallantop. He said that it was not because of them, but maybe because of his honest criticism of Hardik Pandya.
Hardik Pandya was named captain of Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 season, replacing Rohit Sharma. However, the decision did not go down well with MI fans, who wanted Rohit to continue. Hardik had left MI to join the Gujarat Titans two years earlier, but when he returned for his second stint with Mumbai, things didn’t start well and he faced a lot of criticism.
Pathan opens up on the likely reason
Pathan explained that as a commentator it was his duty to give fair opinions, even if it meant pointing out mistakes. “If I’m criticising you in 7 matches out of 14, I’m still being lenient. That is our job as broadcaster,” Pathan stated in the interview.
He further clarified that there’s no rivaly between him and Pandya. “There is no rivalry. All the Baroda players who have come after me — Deepak Hooda, Swapnil Singh, Krunal Pandya or Hardik Pandya — none of them can say that Irfan-Yusuf did not help them,” Pathan shared.
Pathan even revealed that years ago, VVS Laxman admitted that he made a mistake by not selecting Hardik in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s squad in 2012, when Pathan had recommended him. “VVS Laxman admitted on Star Sports, that he was at fault for not listening to me, and not picking Hardik in 2012. If he had picked him then, Hardik would have played for Hyderabad,” Pathan revealed.
At the same time, Irfan said that criticism should not be taken personally. “There is nothing wrong in criticising the player, if you play, you have to go through that. It happened with Sunil Gavaskar, the great Sachin Tendulkar… they never made anyone feel, they were bigger than the game. But I’m against the derogatory words used against Pandya,” Pathan clarified.
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