Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has strolled down memory lane to his playing days, when Sri Lankan keeper-batter Kumar Sangakkara sledged him as he came out to open the innings in Virender Sehwag’s absence.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Cheeky Singles’, Pathan has asserted that Sangakkara was the most vocal among all Lankan cricketers when he hit Muttiah Muralitharan for two sixes, eventually smashing 93 runs.
“There was a Test match in Delhi. I opened and made 93. After the first innings, when we went to bowl, the box of balls had changed or something like that happened, and Sri Lankan players were not happy. Sangakkara was the most vocal of all. Then, when I went to bat, I had zero idea what had happened; I was asked to open. I hit Muralidharan for two sixes. If he is getting hit for sixes with the new ball, it means you have derailed the opposition’s planning a bit. Suddenly, Sangakkara started saying you guys cheat, your parents teach you all this and blah blah. He went personal, and I also answered back. He started it,” Irfan Pathan said on JioHotstar’s ‘Cheeky Singles’.
However, a few years later, both Irfan and Sangakkara were roped in by the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) franchise at the inaugural IPL 2008 auction. Pathan went on to reveal that both apologised and became good friends.
“After the auction, I saw I would be playing with Sangakkara at Punjab. Now I was eating with his family, and I did not know what to do. I went and told him sorry. He also apologised, and then we became good friends. Emotions are high, and you always make mistakes. It matters how maturely you handle things,” he concluded.
