Retired Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh shared a light-hearted banter on social media after Pathan praised Ben Stokes for his performance in the second Test between England and West Indies.
Stokes was the Man of the Match having scored 176 and 78 in Manchester, apart from picking up three wickets. Pathan, an all-rounder himself, took to Twitter to say:
“Indian cricket will be unbeatable anywhere in the world if they have a match winning all-rounder like Ben Stokes.”
Yuvraj jumped in, asking “Are you saying we don’t have a all-rounder who’s a match winner?”
Are you saying we don’t have a all-rounder who’s a match winner 😜?
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 21, 2020
Irfan dodged the bullet, reminding Yuvraj that he was an all-rounder too: “Bro Yuvraj Singh has retired.”
Bro Yuvraj Singh has officially retired…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 21, 2020
Yuvraj used the opportunity to praise Irfan too, before the conversation came to a close. “I knew that was coming ! Waise aap bhi kuch kam nahi they !”
😂You know me too well brother;) 👊
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 21, 2020
“You know me too well brother;)”
Pathan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for India, scoring more than 2500 runs and picking up 301 wickets across the formats. He was also the Man of the Match in the final of the inaugural ICC World T20, where India beat Pakistan.
Yuvraj, the Man of the Series in the World Cup 2011, played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring 11,778 runs and picking up 159 wickets.
Pathan Draws Similarities Between Ganguly and Kohli:
Earlier Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan has said Virat Kohli is the right guy to guide youngsters who come into the senior team after playing U-19 cricket, given the India captain himself has made a successful transition from junior cricket to the top level in the sport.
Irfan Pathan pointed that Virat Kohli is very similar to Sourav Ganguly when it comes to backing youngsters in the team. Pathan pointed out how Rishabh Pant has got the backing of Kohli in the recent past despite the young wicketkeeper-batsman’s struggles in international cricket.
Pathan said U-19 cricketers need to evolve constantly and be mentally strong to make a successful switch from the junior level to the senior level.
