It is no secret that there is no love lost between India and Pakistan cricketers as well as their fans. The political bitterness has flowed into the field as well. The cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan touched a new nadir when the Indians refused to shake hands with Pakistan cricketers during the Asia Cup 2025 matches in the aftermath of Pahalgam terrorist attack.
So it was surprising that a viral news emerged a couple of years back that former India cricketer Irfan Pathan had decided to travel to Pakistan to interview their star cricketer Babar Azam. Videos and pictures of Irfan Pathan attempting to interview Babar Azam and being turned down by the Pakistan cricketer had gone viral a couple of years back.
But the former Chennai Super Kings all-rounder opened up on these viral but ‘fake’ news and the subsequent trolling that he suffered. Speaking on JioStar’s show ‘Cheeky Singles’ show, Irfan Pathan opened up on ‘fake news’.
“The trolling and fake attribution happen every day. The media in our neighbouring country once ran a story claiming that I had gone to interview Babar Azam, and that he refused because, according to him, ‘He trolls our country, so I won’t give him an interview’. It was a complete lie,” Irfan Pathan said on JioStar’s show ‘Cheeky Singles’.
“Someone had photoshopped my face onto a picture. The person in the original image was a young Bangladeshi reporter who had gone to the ground for the first time and was refused an interview. They literally put my face on his body and spread the story. It got over a million views, and people believed it was me. This happens every day, but I don’t respond. Every day, some lie is told in our name or about some player. If you keep responding to everyone, you won’t be able to live your life,” Pathan added.
Irfan’s former India teammate Harbhajan Singh had also defended him against Pakistan trolls in 2024. “Where is @IrfanPathan in this video ?? Bolne ki tameez to aap logo ko pehle hi nahi thi. Ab aankho se dikhna bi bandh ho gya kya ? Waise bi agar angreji mai swal pooch liya to pange pad jayenge,” Harbhajan had tweeted.
Where is @IrfanPathan in this video ?? Bolne ki tameez to aap logo ko pehle hi nahi thi. Ab aankho se dikhna bi bandh ho gya kya ? Waise bi agar angreji mai swal pooch liya to pange pad jayenge. https://t.co/0IQpnDEBC4
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) August 1, 2024
Pathan also recounted an occasion when Bollywood actress Preity Zinta had cooked ‘paranthas’ for his forme IPL team Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). The former India all-rounder was part of the KXIP team from 2008 to the 2010 season.
“When we went to South Africa, we lost a few matches at the start. Everyone was upset, including our boss, Preity Zinta. She gathered the entire team and said, ‘Look, if you win the next match, I’ll host a party for all of you with Indian food, and I’ll make parathas for you’. Everyone was craving for Indian food. In the very next game, we won a low-scoring match. True to her word, Preity fulfilled her promise. She gathered all the players at the hotel and made parathas.
“Playing is our job, we didn’t do anything extraordinary, but she is such a lovely lady, so warm and caring. Even when we lost regularly, and despite being disappointed, she would attend team meetings, speak to us, ask how we could improve, and never lose her cool,” Pathan recalled.
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