Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan opened up on his rivalry with Shahid Afridi, revealing that it stemmed from the ex-Pakistan skipper’s dismissive comments about his identity early in his career.

Pathan admitted that Afridi's remarks fueled his determination to get the better of him, which he achieved 11 times across formats, including key moments like the 2007 T20 World Cup final.

In an interaction with Lallantop, Irfan Pathan explained how the rivalry turned personal early on.

“Dismissed him 11 times. I have a different kind of fight with him [Afridi] because when I was new and young in the team… there was an interview of Afridi with Harsha Bhogle,” Pathan said.

“Afridi had said, ‘I am the real Pathan, he is a fake Pathan’. Badtameez aadmi hai. Mujhe laga ki aap sirf mere baare mein nahi bol rahe ho, mere waalid ke baare mein bhi baat kar rahe, jo aapko nahi karna chahiye tha.”

Pathan acknowledged that Afridi’s words motivated him to do well whenever the two came up against each other.

“Toh jab jab mere haath mein ball tha, mere jahan mein yeh tha ki isko toh main out kar dunga. Maine out karke usko gyara baar bata chuka hoon ki asli Pathan kaun hai. Bade bade maukon mein out kiya hai — series decider mein, World Cup final mein,” he added.

Here’s the video:

Irfan Pathan recently shared a fascinating anecdote from the 2006 tour of Pakistan, where he had a heated exchange with Shahid Afridi on a flight.

“During the 2006 tour, we were travelling by flight from Karachi to Lahore. Both teams were travelling together. Afridi came and placed his hand on my head, messing up my hair. He asked me, ‘How are you kid?’ I said, ‘Tu kab se mera baap ban gaya? (Since when have you become my father?)’,".

“The childish behaviour was actually his. He was not my friend. After that, Afridi said some abusive words to me. His seat was right next to mine," Pathan said.

The conversation that followed was hilarious, to say the least. Pathan was sitting next to Abdul Razzaq, and he casually asked him about the different kinds of meat available in Pakistan, which took the latter by surprise.

“Abdul Razzaq was sitting with me then. I asked him what kind of meat is available here. He told me about the different kinds of meat. Then I asked if dog meat was available. Afridi was sitting right there. Razzaq was shocked to hear this and said, ‘Hey Irfan, why are you saying this?’," he added.

Not the one to hold back, Pathan went on to say that Afridi might have had dog meat, which is why he keeps barking.

“I said, ‘He (Afridi) has eaten dog meat, he has been barking for a long time’. After that, Afridi couldn’t say anything. Whatever he might have said, I would have just said, ‘Look, he is barking again.’ After this, he remained silent throughout the flight," Pathan said.

“From this incident, he understood that he could not win against me verbally. That’s why he never said anything to me again," he further remarked.