Irfan Pathan gives hilarious 'Sholay' reference for Suryakumar Yadav's controversial dismissal

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has taken a cheeky dig at the controversial 'soft signal' rule for third-umpiring decisions, that led to the unfortunate dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav in the fourth T20I against England.

The dodgy decision sparked a huge debate on Twitter, with many questioning the over-dependence on umpires despite the use of technology. Irfan Pathan took to Twitter to say that relying on umpires for such decisions was like depending on 'Thakur' from the movie 'Sholay'.

The character of Thakur had no hands, and so relying on him for anything absolutely made no sense. This was probably what Irfan Pathan wanted to point out through his tweet.

"Giving Soft signal despite having technology is like Having Thakur but Sholay wala... #softsignal," Pathan tweeted.

Giving Soft signal despite having technology is like Having Thakur but Sholay wala... #softsignal

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 19, 2021

The 30-year-old Suryakumar Yadav was looking in ominous touch and the England bowlers had no answer for his swashbuckling knock of 57. However, his incredible innings came to a controversial end as he was adjudged out after being caught by Dawid Malan at deep fine leg.

While it looked to be a clean catch in real-time, replays showed there were high chances of the ball touching the grass as Malan tried to complete the catch. However, since the soft signal given by the on-field umpire was out, the third umpire couldn't find enough conclusive evidence to overturn it.

Suryakumar Yadav's hard work is finally rewarded

I prayed for moments like this, what a feeling. #TeamIndia 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/bdqEDWU4Wh

— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) March 18, 2021

Many were not surprised when Suryakumar Yadav smashed Jofra Archer for a six on the very first ball he faced in international cricket. This was because he had already become an IPL veteran even before making his India debut.

Suryakumar Yadav has batted at different positions for the Mumbai Indians in the past three seasons, amassing 1416 runs for the five-time IPL champions.

He did well for Mumbai in domestic cricket too, and thus, a few eyebrows were raised when he wasn't picked on the tour to Australia last year. Even on his debut, Suryakumar Yadav didn't get to bat and was dropped in the next game.

Despite all these adversities, Yadav stood tall and made his very first innings count. He has been rewarded with his maiden ODI call-up and will be keen to make an impact in that format too.