Irfan Pathan gives befitting reply to Pakistani girl on odd question

What's the story?

In an event in Nagpur, Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan shared an interesting anecdote from his days with the national team. During the interactive session, he was discussing his life in the cricket field and this particular confrontation with a young Pakistani girl came up.

Irfan revealed that the incident had happened in Lahore. A girl had asked him why despite following the Muslim religion, he played for India. This absurd question had the all-rounder stranded for a moment before he had replied, “It is a matter of pride for me to play for India."

Recollecting the incident, he said at the event, "That incident still motivates me to do better. Although there are many moments during my career that do give me reasons to feel proud of my effort.”

In case you didn't know...

Pathan, who is currently striving to make a comeback to the national side, made his debut in Australia during the 2003 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The southpaw then went on to feature in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for the national side. In his time with the national side, he has scored over 2600 runs and picked 301 wickets in international cricket. However, all Indian fans still fondly remember his first over hat-trick against Pakistan in 2006.

The heart of the matter

Irfan was answering several questions at the event ranging various topics. But this particular anecdote that he shared and reflected on his love for the country and the respect he’s had for the national colours.

He also said that it was a matter of honour for every player to be playing for the country but personally for him, it was a matter of pride to represent India. At the event, he also revealed that receiving the India cap from former captain Sourav Ganguly is his most memorable moment from his career.

What's next?

Pathan will be looking forward to the upcoming IPL auctions. After a decent performance at the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, he will be hoping to be picked up by one of the franchises for the IPL, where he would be looking to impress the national selectors.

Sportskeeda's take

Irfan is widely considered as one India's best swing-bowling allrounders after Kapil Dev. His exploits in Pakistan is still fresh in every Indian cricket fans' minds. This incident, which was not known till date, will only increase the respect for him amongst his countrymen.