Irfan Pathan hits out at online trolls, calls sincere & hardworking people as true Indians

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan earlier gave his take on racism in wake of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. His tweet got enough support but also received a massive backlash from fans and followers on social media. The 35-year-old was recently involved in an interview with The Print where he spoke about a range of topics and also gave a befitting reply to trolls on social media who questioned his patriotism.

Irfan Pathan Twitter: His take on racism

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Irfan Pathan Twitter: Cricketer talks about trolls after backlash for his racism tweet

In the interview, Irfan Pathan took a dig at trolls on social media who were calling out his patriotism. The former all-rounder said “abusing someone on Twitter is not patriotic” and one is a true patriot only if they are working hard with honesty and making even a small contribution towards the progress of their country. He added that trolling means nothing to him and the Twitter pressure doesn’t matter as he has always been under pressure while playing cricket. In saying so, Irfan Pathan stood by the words he tweeted out on June 10, which was retaliation towards trolls for his earlier take on racism in the country.  

Irfan Pathan Twitter: Former all-rounder defends his take on racism

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Irfan Pathan, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, was also asked if he ever thought about having a career in politics going ahead. He revealed that he was offered tickets by two political parties ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. But he declined both because he wanted to play cricket at the time. Irfan Pathan further said that he was once again offered an entry into politics in 2019 but he was not sure at that stage too. Had he accepted it, Irfan Pathan would have become another high-profile cricketer-turned-politician after his former teammate Gautam Gambhir, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin. 

A throwback to Irfan Pathan hattrick

The Irfan Pathan hattrick in the 2006 Karachi Test continues to be remembered by many Indian cricket fans. Irfan Pathan rattled the Pakistani top-order and claimed his first-ever hattrick. That Irfan Pathan hattrick included the wickets of Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the first over of the match. Yousuf, who faced the hat-trick ball, faced a ripper of a delivery that went right through his defence and crashed the timber behind him.

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Irfan Pathan hattrick, watch video

Irfan Pathan and brother Yusuf Pathan

Irfan Pathan’s elder brother Yusuf Pathan also plays professional cricket and has represented the Indian team. While both cricketers made their previous international appearance in 2012, the two all-rounders continued to play for Baroda in Ranji Trophy until Irfan’s final outing in the 2017 season.  Both Irfan and Yusuf Pathan have also taken field for various franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Image credits: Irfan Pathan Instagram