“I said something about his wife”: Irfan Pathan remembers sledging incident with Kumar Sangakkara

Irfan Pathan remembers sledging incident with Kumar Sangakkara: The former Indian all-rounder shared a sledging incident with former Sri Lankan captain.

India all-rounder Irfan Pathan announced retirement from all forms of cricket yesterday. Having made his international debut in 2003, Pathan last played for India in 2012.

In 173 international appearances for India, Pathan picked 301 wickets, scored 2,821 runs and grabbed 31 catches. The southpaw played pivotal roles in some of India’s most memorable wins during his playing days.

Having last played competitive cricket for J&K in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in February last year, 35-year old Pathan didn’t take part in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy or the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

#ThankYouIrfanPathan @IrfanPathan pic.twitter.com/VRDNSEXpau

— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) January 4, 2020

The last of Pathan’s Indian Premier League appearances had come for Gujarat Lions against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2017.

Irfan Pathan remembers sledging incident with Kumar Sangakkara

Speaking on Star Sports in a recent show, Pathan revealed how he once engaged in a sledging incident with former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. The southpaw explained in detail regarding what initiated the conversation and how both the players went back to becoming friends.

“[Kumar] Sangakkara was just trying to tell me something very nasty. He said something personal, I said something personal to him. I said something about his wife, he said something about my father and my mother. At that time, we were not happy with each other.

“I remember, for a month, as soon as his wife used to come on the right, I used to go left. One day, Sangakkara came and said… ‘you remember this guy, he is the guy who said something about you’. I said sorry. And then Sangakkara explained, I said something first and then only he said something about you. It ended that way. There is no hard feeling and then we became friends,” Pathan was quoted as saying.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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