Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has clarified his stand after an old video of him from 2020 resurfaced online, sparking debate over his exclusion
from the national team.
The clip, now doing rounds on social media, shows Pathan talking about a past interaction with MS Dhoni and also making a cryptic remark about not being the kind of person who set up "hookahs" for others.
Although Pathan never mentioned Dhoni's name directly, many interpreted it as a veiled reference to the former India captain, under whose leadership the left-arm pacer eventually lost his spot in the side. The resurfacing of the video triggered heated discussions among fans and stirred fresh controversy.
Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?
- Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 3, 2025
Breaking his silence, Pathan said he was taken aback by the sudden attention on a five-year-old video and accused vested interests of twisting his words. Writing on X, he stated: "Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?"
The video in question is from the COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020, when Pathan appeared on Sports Tak and revisited the 2008 CB Series in Australia. He recalled a chat with Dhoni at the time, saying:
"Yes, I asked him. During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai's statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn't bowling well. So I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai about this. Sometimes, the statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify. So Mahi bhai said, 'no Irfan, there is nothing like this, everything's going as per plans. ' When you get a reply like this, then you believe that okay, you do what you can. Also if you keep asking for explanations again and again after that, you hurt your self-respect. "
He further added: "I don't have a habit of setting up hookah in someone's room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes if you don't speak about it, it's better. A cricketer's job is to perform on the field and that is what I used to focus on. "
Pathan's clarification comes as fans continue to debate the intent behind his comments, with the former all-rounder insisting that his words were blown out of proportion.
