Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan congratulated Deepak Hooda after the latter received his maiden international call-up.

Hooda, who plays for Rajasthan in domestic cricket, on Wednesday (January 26) earned a call-up in the national side as he was picked in India's 18-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against West Indies.

"You came out of a tough phase, you kept fighting, kept performing. So proud @HoodaOnFire, congratulations. Make the most of it. Congratulations to Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh khan too. #INDvWI," Pathan tweeted.

Hooda’s selection comes after on the back of his performances for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. He is being looked as a potential finisher in shorter formats. He was part of the Nidahas Trophy squad back in 2018 back but didn't get an opportunity.

Pathan also pointed out that Deepak Hooda is so motivated to play cricket that factors like money don't really matter to him.

Irfan made this observation after Hooda's controversial exit from the Baroda team last year, following a spat with Krunal Pandya.

“It is a true story. Lot of teams wanted him. He didn't care about the money. He just wanted to go out there and play and that's the kind of character he is. He's a kid in a candy store when it comes to playing cricket and he just loves it.”

"He doesn't care about other benefits and everything. Some of the decision makers (at RCA) were also surprised that he didn't talk about money. He didn't talk about commercials," Pathan was quoted as saying in a report by PTI.

Pathan also recalled a recent episode between him and Hooda, highlighting the latter’s current form.

“I was there with him 10 days ago and I was seeing his batting also. Those who follow domestic circuit know that if you're batting well in Moti Bagh (green surface), you are actually batting well.”

“He must have batted two sessions, each session minimum 300 to 400 balls. He was hardly playing away from his body. The ball does a bit and 95 per cent of the time he was in control.

"And I was like, ‘wow, if he gets selected right now he will score runs for India,’” he said.