Irfan Pathan reveals the reason behind his removal from the IPL commentary panel

Not Rohit or Virat, this player’s criticism led to Pathan’s ouster

When talking about the big names in modern Indian cricket, the two that stand out are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, it wasn’t Irfan's criticism of the two giants that led to him being removed from the IPL commentary team. 

Pathan was at the forefront of criticising Hardik Pandya as the Indian all-rounder returned to the Mumbai Indians to captain the five-time champions. The decision from MI to give Hardik the captaincy from Rohit Sharma did not sit well with the fans. Hardik was booed not only at the Wankhede Stadium, the home of MI, but also in the stadiums around the country. Amidst all the criticism from the fans, there was no respite for Hardik, with Pathan too criticising the MI skipper.

Irfan questions Hardik’s captaincy in IPL 2024

In just his second game as the captain of the Mumbai Indians, the five-time champions were at the receiving end of ultra-aggressive bashing from Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH broke the record for the highest runs scored in an IPL innings and scored 277 runs in the first innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. 

While being on the commentary panel, Irfan questioned Hardik’s captaincy and the reluctance to hand Jasprit Bumrah the ball when the carnage was ongoing. 

When the Mumbai Indians lost their seventh game of the season from the opening 10 games, it was certain that the five-time champions would not qualify for the playoffs. This led to Irfan drawing parallels between the team in 2024 and 2023. While questioning Hardik’s captaincy, the former Indian all-rounder mentioned how the 2023 team that finished among the top four did not have Jasprit Bumrah among their ranks. 

Hardik’s batting comes under the scanner

Apart from his captaincy, Irfan’s criticism reached a point where he was also questioning the batting ability of Pandya. In a game against the Rajasthan Royals at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, he could only manage to score a run-a-ball 10 runs before being trapped in front of the stumps by Avesh Khan. MI went on to lose the game by nine wickets, which once again drew backlash from Irfan.

However, Irfan went on to suggest that the poor performance of Hardik Pandya in the IPL should mean that he is not a guaranteed pick in the starting XI for the T20 World Cup that was about to follow. While naming his squad for the ICC event, Irfan mentioned that Hardik would only get in the squad if he is bowling regularly. While replying to a comment under the same tweet, Irfan said Hardik won’t walk into the playing XI and would have to prove his worth to do so. 

Pandya went on to have a sensational campaign in the USA and the West Indies as India lifted the T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. The all–rounder played a huge role throughout the tournament but was highly crucial in the final by picking up crucial wickets at a stage when South Africa needed only 26 runs in 24 balls. 

Irfan talks about his removal from the Indian team

In the same interview with The Lallantop, Irfan Pathan talked about his removal from the Indian team. While not taking any names, the 40-year-old hinted at MS Dhoni being responsible for Irfan’s removal from the team. It was in 2009 in New Zealand when Irfan was dropped from the ODI team. 

He was benched for the entirety of the five-match ODI series, prompting him to go to the head coach at that time, Gary Kirsten. Pathan said, “In New Zealand, I was benched for the first match, the second match, and the third match as well. The fourth match was a draw because of rain. I wasn’t in the final match either. Then I asked Gary sir why I had been dropped. If there was something I needed to improve, he could tell me, but I wanted to know the reason I was left out. Kirsten gave me two reasons. He said, ‘There are things that are not in my hand.’ Those were Gary’s exact words. I asked whose hands it was in, but he didn’t tell me. I already knew whose hands it was in.”

Pathan believed it was MS Dhoni who was responsible for removing him from the team. It is not the first time a former cricketer has criticised Dhoni for removing them from the team. However, Irfan pointed out that it was the decision of the captain in how a team is run. “The playing XI is decided by the captain’s choice. The decision rests with the captain, coach, and management. Dhoni was the captain at that time. I won’t get into whether that decision was right or wrong, because every captain has the right to run the team in his own way,” said Irfan.

Poor performance led to Irfan being dropped

While Irfan maintains that he was playing well at the time of his being dropped from the team, it is not entirely true. The all-rounder had been performing poorly in both facets of the game. In his five batting innings in ODIs leading up to being dropped, Irfan was dismissed in single-digit figures. On the other hand, with the ball in hand, in six innings, Irfan managed to pick only seven wickets before being dropped from the team.