Watch: ‘I don’t set up hookah in someone’s room’ - Irfan Pathan’s sly dig at MS Dhoni in old video goes viral

An old video of Irfan Pathan making a sly dig at MS Dhoni while talking about what led to the end of his India career has gone viral. Pathan made a dig at Dhoni, saying maybe his habit of not setting up hookah for someone in their room was the reason his career declined after 2008.

With his ability to swing the ball both ways, Irfan Pathan emerged as a pacer. Additionally, Pathan was viewed as more of an all-round player than merely a bowler after the BCCI hired former Australia great Greg Chappell as head coach. Though he was a useful pick in both areas of the game, his international career ended prematurely in 2012.

Pathan played in 24 T20Is, 120 ODIs, and 29 Test matches for India. In all formats, he scored 2821 runs with the bat, including one hundred and eleven half-centuries. Pathan also claimed 301 wickets with the ball, including a Test hat-trick against Pakistan.

In what was his final ODI for India, Irfan Pathan was the star of the win with a five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka.

"I don't have a habit of setting up hookah.”- Irfan Pathan’s dig at MS Dhoni, indicating he favored players who flattered him

Irfan Pathan once said that MS Dhoni loves guys who sweeten him up and set up a hookah in his room in a video that has since gone viral.

In 2020, Pathan discussed his abrupt departure from the national setup in an interview with SportsTak. The former all-rounder talked candidly about his chat with then-captain MS Dhoni during the encounter, and a video of the exchange has become popular on social media.

When Pathan learned that the captain was dissatisfied with his bowling, he said he spoke with Dhoni, but the captain dismissed the idea.

"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 plan.' 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," Pathan can be heard saying in the viral clip.

Going on, it seemed that Pathan was making a subtle jab at Dhoni when he said that he doesn't put up a hookah in someone's (Dhoni's) room just to appease him.

"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," he said.

Watch here:

https://x.com/rafalekohli/status/1962534288349630854

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