Ex-India cricketer Irfan Pathan has spoken about the fierce rivalry he shared with Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi, and it was a clash that went beyond the field and at times also personal. Pathan, who enjoyed playing against arch-rivals Pakistan, had taken 67 wickets and had scored 807 runs, which also includes a hundred. It should be noted here that he had gotten Afridi out 11 times in all formats, and that includes dismissing him for a golden duck during the 2007 T20 World Cup summit clash.

During an interaction with the Lallantop, Pathan revealed how the rivalry had become personal and how it encouraged him in his career during the later stages.

What Irfan Pathan Said About Shahid Afridi?

“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 (He is ill-mannered). 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. (I felt he was taking not only about me but my father too, which he should not have done)," Irfan Pathan was quoted as saying to the Lallantop.

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“Toh jab jab mere haath mein ball tha, mere dimaag mein tha ki isko toh main out kar dunga (When I had the ball in hand, the thought in my head was that I would dismiss him). Aur maine usko gyara baar out karke dikha diya ki asli Pathan kaun hai (I have shown him, who the real ‘Pathan’ is, as I got him out 11 times). Aur bade bade maukon par out kiya hai — series decider mein, World Cup final mein (I have dismissed him on important occasions – in series decider, in the World Cup final)," he said.

This rivalry between them wasn't just restricted to the field. Pathan also talked about a how a heated arguement in the 2006 series against Pakistan, when they were going from Karachi to Lahore in a flight. Afridi casually tried to mess Pathan's hair and said, “How are you kid?" and then Pathan gave a brutal reply and said, “Since when have you become my father?". This light-hearted conversation soon turned into a heated exchange. He opened up as to how he quickly made a sharp turnaround and said, “I said, ‘He (Afridi) has eaten dog meat, he has been barking for a long time.’ From then on, whatever he said, I would reply, ‘Look, he is barking again.’ That’s when he realised he could never beat me verbally."

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As per Pathan, the way Afridi talked to him might have been disrespectful, but that helped him brilliantly on the field and concluded, “I showed him who the real Pathan is — not once, but 11 times,".