'I don't have the habit of setting up Hookah': Irfan Pathan's old dig on Dhoni resurfaces - WATCH

File photo of MS Dhoni, Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh (AFP)

Irfan Pathan burst onto the scene as a pacer, who could swing the ball both ways. And with the BCCI roping in former Australia legend Greg Chappell as the head coach, Pathan was seen more of an all-rounder rather than just a bowler. However, his international career came to an abrupt end despite being a handy pick in both departments of the game.

Pathan represented India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is. With the bat he amassed 2821 runs across all formats, which featured one century and eleven half-centuries. And with the ball, Pathan accounted for 301 wickets, which included a Test hat-trick against Pakistan. In fact in his final ODI appearance for India, Pathan registered a five-wicket haul but went into an exile for reasons only known to the management and selectors.

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During an interview with SportsTak in 2020, Pathan threw light on his sudden exit from the national setup. During the interaction, the former all-rounder opened up on his conversation with then skipper MS Dhoni and a clip from the interview has gone viral on social media. Pathan revealed he spoke with Dhoni when news came to him that the captain was not happy with his bowling, however, the latter quashed any such notion.

"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 plans.' 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.

Ms dhoni used to select those players who set hukka for him, i denied and i got dropped - Irfan Pathan pic.twitter.com/tlbFPvYZNU

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Continuing further it appeared that Pathan took a veiled dig at Dhoni, stating he isn't someone who sets up hookah in someone's (Dhoni's) room to please 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.