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Fuelling the fire over his contentious relationship with the former skipper, Irfan Pathan alleged that MS Dhoni preferred players who indulged in hookah sessions with him.
Irfan Pathan’s allegation about Dhoni was mocked by fans. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Former India left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan sparked a meme-fest on social media after yet another contentious dig at the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Fanning the flames of their controversial relationship, Pathan once again recalled his debatable sacking from the international scene at the height of Dhoni’s illustrious term as India captain. Pathan, who played his last game for India in 2012 aged 27, never represented the country again, even though he was in the squad of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, which India won.
In an interview with Sports Tak, the fast-bowler insisted there was a lack of communication at the team management and selectors’ end about his removal and seemingly insinuated Dhoni showed favouritism in picking the side while claiming indirectly that he used to favour those who would undergo hookah smoking sessions with him.
Irfan Pathan’s Shocking Hookah Claim On Dhoni
During the interview, Pathan reminisced about a tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka in 2008, where he sought clarity on Dhoni’s statement in the media about his bowling. “During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai’s statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn’t bowling well. So I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai about this. Sometimes, the statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify,” he said.
“So Mahi bhai said, ‘No, Irfan, there is nothing like this, everything’s going as per plans.’ When you get a reply like this, then 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.”
Switching away from his cricketing discussion with Dhoni, Pathan seemed to claim one needed to be in good books of the skipper and smoke the hookah with him for selection back in the day. “I don’t have a habit of setting up a hookah in someone’s room or talking about this,” he said. “Everyone knows. Sometimes, if you don’t speak about it, it’s better. A cricketer’s job is to perform on the field and that is what I used to focus on.”
Given the number of great performers Dhoni unearthed during his captaincy days and the glorious term he had, including wins at three major ICC events and reaching the No.1 rank in Test cricket, it is unlikely that the captain favoured individuals over mere hookah sessions.
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