sb.scorecardresearch

Published 10:55 IST, May 16th 2024

'DONT COME': Irfan Pathan is furious with overseas cricketers, issues ultimatum to them

After Sunil Gavaskar's criticism, Irfan Pathan sends out a no-nonsense response to the England players who are leaving the IPL 2024 season midway.

Reported by: Pavitra Shome
Follow: Google News Icon
  • share
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan | Image: PTI

This year's IPL season had a lot of rumbles, as the journey so far has been extremely entertaining. Despite injury concerns and the date clash with the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the season has gone smoothly till now. As the playoffs inch closer, a lot of the players, mostly from England, have withdrawn from the tournament. Top players like Phil Salt, Sam Curran and Jos Buttler, who have been clinical for their respective teams, will leave to prepare for the T20 World Cup and join their squad. Abandoning the IPL has caused a lot of stirs as veteran cricketers and analysts have criticized their step 

Also Read: 'He missed out, should have picked him': Ganguly backs IPL trailblazer McGurk to be in the T20 WC

Irfan Pathan fires off stern ultimatum to players leaving IPL midway

After Indian Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar criticized the English cricketers leaving the IPL 2024 season ahead of the playoffs, more cricketers shared their opinions about them. Recently, Irfan Pathan also expressed his stern thoughts and had a simple verdict. He withers wanted them to be a part of the entire tournament or not be a participant at all. Pathan was clear on his thoughts as he posted it over the social media platform X (Formerly Twitter). 

“Either be available for full season or don’t come!” the former Indian cricketer wrote on X

Also Read: 'Once I am done, you won’t see me for a while': Virat Kohli spills the beans on his retirement plans

The vile criticism over the English players' withdrawal is coming after the England Cricket Board urged all their players to join the team before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the United States and Caribbean Islands. Players like Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Phil Salt, and more are either heading back home or directly heading to the United States to join the squad. The move caused rage, as the ECB threw a fit at the last moment to call back their players for the T20 WC. 

Sunil Gavaskar was the first person to raise his discontent over the situation, where he said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must penalize the players who are leaving the tournament midway through and also cut the ECB's fees for sending the players to the IPL by ten per cent. The talks between both the cricket boards regarding the issue have taken place in the past, and it is yet to be seen whether they find a resolution or not.

Updated 12:53 IST, May 16th 2024