“Chiku hamara kachumbar bana dega” - Irfan Pathan replies to a Virat Kohli fan on Twitter
MS Dhoni’s retirement from international cricket brought back an important question – do cricketers, especially those that went down as legends of the game, deserve a special farewell? Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan certainly feels so.
Irfan Pathan, who announced retirement earlier this year, came up with a unique idea for recently retired cricketers who didn’t get a farewell game. The all-rounder proposed a farewell-cum-charity match between recently retired Indian players and the current crop of cricketers in the Indian team.
Irfan Pathan, who is quite active on social media, shared the idea on his Twitter handle, and many cricket fans welcomed it. The 2007 T20 World Cup winner also listed his playing XI of recently retired cricketers - Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Irfan himself, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, and Pragyan Ojha.
One fan came up with a hilarious response to the tweet. He asked Irfan Pathan why he is keen on troubling Virat Kohli and the current squad. The fan tweeted, “Kyun Chiku ko pelne me lge ho”.
Pathan, amused by the comment, replied, “Chiku hamara kachumbar bana dega” (Chiku will hit us all over the park)
Irfan Pathan retired in January 2020
In January this year, the former Gujarat Lions bowler retired from all forms of cricket. Irfan Pathan, who won the T20 World Cup in 2007, played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is in a 16-year-long career in international cricket.
The left-arm pacer became only the 2nd Indian bowler to pick up a Test hat-trick when he achieved the feat against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006. Irfan Pathan was also the Man of the Match in the T20 World Cup final in 2007, where he picked up three wickets in four overs, conceding just 16 runs.