Irfan recalls fiery rivalry with Afridi: 'I showed him who the real Pathan is'

NEW DELHI: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opened up about his long-standing on-field rivalry with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, recalling both the personal barbs and the cricketing battles that defined their encounters.Pathan, who had immense success against Pakistan in his career — taking 67 wickets and scoring 807 runs, including a century — dismissed Afridi 11 times across formats, including a golden duck in the 2007 T20 World Cup final. Speaking on Lallantop, the former left-arm pacer revealed how the rivalry turned personal early on.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Dismissed him 11 times. I have a different kind of fight with him [Afridi] because when I was new and young in the team… there was an interview of Afridi with Harsha Bhogle,” Pathan said.

“Afridi had said, ‘I am the real Pathan, he is a fake Pathan’. Badtameez aadmi hai. Mujhe laga ki aap sirf mere baare mein nahi bol rahe ho, mere waalid ke baare mein bhi baat kar rahe, jo aapko nahi karna chahiye tha.”

Pathan admitted the comment fueled his determination whenever he bowled to Afridi. “Toh jab jab mere haath mein ball tha, mere jahan mein yeh tha ki isko toh main out kar dunga. Maine out karke usko gyara baar bata chuka hoon ki asli Pathan kaun hai.

Bade bade maukon mein out kiya hai — series decider mein, World Cup final mein,” he added.The rivalry also played out off the field. Pathan recalled a heated exchange during India’s 2006 tour of Pakistan when both teams were traveling by flight from Karachi to Lahore. “Afridi came and placed his hand on my head, messing up my hair. He asked me, ‘How are you kid?’ I said, ‘Since when have you become my father?’ The childish behaviour was actually his,” Pathan recounted.

What followed was a verbal spat, with Pathan landing the sharper wordplay. “I said, ‘He (Afridi) has eaten dog meat, he has been barking for a long time.’ After that, Afridi couldn’t say anything. Whatever he might have said, I would have just said, ‘Look, he is barking again.’ From that moment, he understood he could not win against me verbally,” Pathan explained.For Pathan, Afridi’s remarks may have crossed a line, but the Indian all-rounder believes his performances on the field offered the most fitting reply. “I showed him who the real Pathan is — not once, but 11 times.”