Pathan also praised Virat Kohli's enduring fitness and consistency, calling him a "Run Machine" and noting that he continues to score centuries.
Pathan recently recalled an incident from the 2006 tour of Pakistan that left Afridi stunned into silence.
'A cricketer's job is to perform on the field and that is what I used to focus on.'
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan praised South Africa's composure under pressure following their victory over India in the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, highlighting the match-winning contributions of David Miller and Dewald Brevis.
Sanju Samson's quickfire 24 off 15 gave India a flying start against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup Super 8 clash, drawing mixed reactions from fans and praise from Irfan Pathan and Dinesh Karthik.
'Apart from Bumrah, nothing much stood out in the bowling, except for the new spell bowled by Arshdeep.'
Irfan Pathan and Sunil Gavaskar hail Suryakumar Yadav's return to form after his rapid fifty powered India to a series-clinching T20I win over New Zealand.
India should only focus on winning their match T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday without worrying about the net run rate, says former all-rounder Irfan Pathan.
India hammer Pakistan by 61 runs in the T20 World Cup as Manjrekar, Dhawan, Vaughan and others react to the Men in Blue's commanding 8-1 record in ICC clashes.
Irfan Pathan revealed a picture of his spouse and expressed deep gratitude and admiration for her.
J&K CM congratulates cricket team after historic entry into Ranji Trophy final
'Even if Reddy fails, the management should persist with him, and India will eventually get a good all-rounder.'
Pathan felt the same learning curve now applies to Gill, who has rapidly risen through the ranks and embraced leadership roles across formats.
As India approaches a new year of cricketing action, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned that with ODI-exclusive stalwarts in such impressive form, why there are no more five-match ODI series or any triangular/quadrangular series taking place.
Ayush Badoni rose to prominence with his performances for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL where he played under the mentorship of current India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Pathan also lauded young Harshit Rana's all-round contribution, insisting the pacer is earning his place purely on merit.
Virat Kohli top-scored with a splendid innings of 93 from 91 balls, anchoring India's run chase of 301 with eight fours and one six during the series opener against New Zealand.
Rohit won the 'Player of the Match' award and the 'Player of the Series' award as well for top-scoring in the series with 202 runs, including a century and a fifty each.
Cricket has never been the same since India's thrilling, last-over win over Pakistan in the final at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on September 24, 2007.
Irfan captioned the picture, 'A palace behind me and a queen beside me. #life.'
It is learnt that Faiyaz Ansari drowned in the swimming pool of the hotel on June 21.
Former players Irfan Pathan and Venkatesh Prasad have questioned the Indian team's muddled approach, lack of stability and the increasing reliance on all-rounders.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will attract strong interest from teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings at Tuesday's Indian Premier League 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi.
The Indian cricket fraternity shared their views on India's T20I World Cup squad, which threw up several surprises with the return of Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan, while Jitesh Sharma missed out and Shubman Gill was dropped.
Overall, in his IPL career, Ravi Bishnoi has picked up 72 wickets in 77 games at an economy rate of 8.21.
"Gill should cement his place at the top order in T20": Irfan Pathan
Sanju Samson boasts of a superb record in T20 Internationals, with 995 runs in 51 matches at a strike rate of 147.40, including three centuries and as many fifties.
'One who was aggressive in the Powerplay, and the other after the Powerplay when wickets were falling he turned into an adamant batter, who batted sensibly and was not ready to give away his wicket.'
Marco Jansen picked 12 wickets in the two Tests at an average of 10.08 including a six-wicket haul in the first innings of the Guwahati Test, while Jasprit Bumrah managed eight wickets in the series.
Gill, who donned the opener's role during India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup trophy, mustered up 127 runs in seven appearances.
Yuvraj Singh's cheeky birthday wish for Gautam Gambhir broke the internet on Tuesday as the former India opener turned 44.
Ahead of the 16th season of the Indian Premier League, Irfan Pathan opened up on Punjab Kings' weaknesses.
Gurumurthy, the company's CEO, said TEN x YOU was built on athlete insight and designed for Indian conditions.
Kaif also questioned Gill's tactical choices on debut, especially the call to leave out Kuldeep -- a bowler capable of turning games in Australia's own backyard.
For a bowler this effective to be sidelined repeatedly, there must be either a very specific tactical reason -- or something unspoken within the dressing room dynamics.
A day before the much-anticipated India vs Pakistan clash in the World Championship of Legends Cricket 2025, several former India cricketers have reportedly pulled out of the fixture, fearing backlash from fans.
Suryakumar reshuffled the batting order to give the lower-order more game time, even pushing himself down to No. 11.
'In a format driven by aggression and innovation, the question remains: Can Shubman Gill's classical batting style continue to find space in India's T20 future?'
'Easily the best innings of his career so far.'
"He needs to rotate strike, keep the scoreboard moving": Pathan on Virat ahead of 3rd Sydney ODI
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