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Kolkata: Former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan thanked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for including him as one of the Trinamool Congress candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The TMC on Sunday released its candidate roster for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, ushering a major overhaul by dropping seven incumbent MPs and introducing numerous new faces.
“I’m eternally grateful to Smt. @mamataofficial for welcoming me into the TMC family and trusting me with the responsibility to become people’s voice in the Parliament. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to uplift the poor and deprived, and that is what I hope to achieve,” said Yusuf, who represented India in 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is, scoring 1000-plus runs and taking 45 wickets.
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Notably, Yusuf, who is the elder brother of former India all-rounder Irfan, played for Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the Indian Premier League from 2011 to 2017. During his time at KKR, Yusuf played a crucial role in KKR’s title-winning campaigns in 2012 and 2014.
Yusuf has been nominated from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat, historically a stronghold of state Congress chief and five-term MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. However, Congress is yet to name a candidate from Baharampur. It is understood, Chowdhury will contest from that seat.
On his likely opposition, Chowdhury stated TMC should have nominated Yusuf for Rajya Sabha if they wanted to honour him. “Outsiders were nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Bengal. If Trinamool wanted to honour Yusuf Pathan, it should have sent him to the Rajya Sabha.
“If Mamata Banerjee had good intentions, she would have asked the (INDIA) alliance to get Yusuf Pathan a seat in Gujarat. But here he is selected as a candidate to polarise the common man and to help the BJP, so that Congress can be defeated,” Chowdhury said, as quoted by NDTV.
Soon after the announcement by TMC, Irfan took to social media to share an emotional post for his brother. “Your patience, kindness, help to the needy and service to people even without an official position can be easily noticed. I am confident that once you step into a political role, you will truly make a difference in the daily lives of people @iamyusufpathan,” he wrote.
An explosive batter by trait, Yusuf is known for hitting towering sixes. He was a part of the Indian squads that won 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa and 2011 ODI World Cup at home. The right-hander retired from cricket in 2021.
However, he is currently playing franchise leagues globally for the former cricketers. A few days back, another former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir quit politics to focus on his cricketing commitments. Gambhir, who was a BJP MP from East Delhi constituency, will be seen in KKR colours as a mentor in the upcoming IPL.
Interestingly, Gambhir is the only captain to lead KKR to two titles in 2012 and 2014.
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