WATCH: “That is our job…,” Irfan Pathan reveals he was sacked from IPL 2025 broadcast team due to criticism of Hardik Pandya

Pathan said his remarks about the Mumbai Indians skipper were not overly harsh.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been pretty blunt and straightforward as a cricket expert. His blunt and unfiltered analysis of the game often draws his flak on social media

There was a lot of speculations when Pathan was left out of the IPL 2025 commentary team and he took the YouTube route to share his thoughts on the game.

Rumours were rife that Pathan was sacked from the IPL broadcast team after he passed critical comments on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25.

However, Irfan Pathan has now clarified his removal from the IPL broadcast team was due to criticism of Hardik Pandya, not Kohli or Rohit.

Speaking to The Lallantop, Irfan suggested that his remarks about the Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper were not overly harsh given his role as a broadcaster.

“If I’m criticising you in 7 matches out of 14, I’m still being lenient. That is our job as broadcaster," he said, before insisting that there was no personal rivalry between them.

“There is no rivalry. All the Baroda players who have come after me — Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya or Hardik Pandya — none of them can say that Irfan-Yusuf did not help them."

To highlight his support for Hardik, Irfan also shared an incident from 2012 when he recommended the young all-rounder to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“VVS Laxman admitted on Star Sports, that he was at fault for not listening to me, and not picking Hardik in 2012. If he had picked him then, Hardik would have played for Hyderabad," Pathan revealed.

Irfan also mentioned that he has defended Hardik in the past, even during moments of heavy backlash in IPL 2024 when he was appointed MI captain after Rohit Sharma was removed. “I took a stand then and said nothing bad should be said about the player," Irfan recalled.

While Irfan said criticism is a part of a player’s career, he stressed that it shouldn’t reach a stage where personal attacks come into the picture.

“There is nothing wrong in criticising the player, if you play, you have to go through that. It happened with Sunil Gavaskar, the great Sachin Tendulkar… they never made anyone feel, they were bigger than the game. But I’m against the derogatory words used against Pandya," he said.