Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has revealed a behind the scene story of 2003-2004 Test series against Pakistan at their home. The story belongs to his father who was angry at the remark of the then Pakistan head coach Javed Miandad and wanted to meet him personally.
For the first time after 1989, India toured Pakistan to play the three-match Test series and also the ODI series in 2003. The Men in Blue dominated the series as they won two matches. Every bowler and batsman had a big contribution in the series against arch-rivals.
At that time, during an interview, Miandad said bowlers like Pathan are found in every Pakistan’s street. Former Indian pacer has now revealed that what was his father’s reaction at Miandad’s remark.
When Irfan’s father read that statement in the newspaper, he didn’t like it. According to Irfan, he wanted to meet Miandad in the Pakistan dressing room after the Test series was over.
The reaction of Irfan Pathan and the whole story:
“I remember Javed Miandad saying something like bowlers like Pathan are there in every street of Pakistan. My father, I remember, reading that news, he didn’t like it at all. I remember in the last game as well, he came to Pakistan, he came to me and said ‘I want to go to the dressing room of Pakistan and meet Javed Miandad’ and I said ‘I don’t want you to go there.’
“As soon as Miandad saw my father, he stood up and said, ‘no I didn’t say anything about your son. My father had a smirk on his face and said, ‘I didn’t come here to say anything to you. I wanted to meet you as you were a wonderful player,” said Irfan Pathan on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.
Further, Irfan also opened up that after the series win, the whole team was celebrating and it was a wonderful experience for them. The Sourav Ganguly-led side displayed fantastic performance throughout the series winning the Tests 2-1 and the ODIs 3-2.