Irfan Pathan recalls 2009 snub: ‘Asked Gary Kirsten why I was dropped, answer left me unsatisfied’

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has spoken about his international career, which lasted from 2003 to 2012. He represented India in all three formats, playing 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is.

In an interview with The Lallantop, Pathan recalled how he was dropped from the side in 2009 despite strong performances. He said: "It was back in 2009 [that I was dropped], when we were in New Zealand. Before that, my brother (Yusuf Pathan) and I had won matches in Sri Lanka. The situation in which we had pulled a win – if it had been anyone else in our place, they wouldn’t have been dropped for a year. In that match against Sri Lanka, we needed 60 runs from just 27–28 balls, and we won it from there.”

Pathan further shared how he was benched for the entire New Zealand series. "In New Zealand, I was benched for the first match, the second match, and the third match as well. The fourth match was a draw because of rain. I wasn’t in the final match either. Then I asked Gary sir why I had been dropped. If there was something I needed to improve, he could tell me, but I wanted to know the reason I was left out," he said.

The former all-rounder also revealed that he asked then head coach Gary Kirsten for an explanation, but the reply left him unsatisfied. "Kirsten gave me two reasons. He said, ‘There are things that are not in my hand.’ Those were Gary’s exact words. I asked whose hands it was in, but he didn’t tell me. I already knew whose hands it was in. The playing XI is decided by the captain’s choice. I won’t get into whether that decision was right or wrong, because every captain has the right to run the team in his own way."

He also pointed out the team combination as another reason. "The second answer was that they were looking for a batting all-rounder at No. 7. Fair enough, my brother was a batting all-rounder, while I was a bowling all-rounder. The two were different from each other, but there was only room for one in the team. Nowadays, if you ask whether two all-rounders are needed, people would gladly take both," Pathan concluded.

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