Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan took a fresh dig at ex-Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi after Afridi had asked him to criticize him to his face. Pathan had mentioned an incident during an appearance on a TV show about how he shut Afridi up for his taunts.

During this incident, Pathan had told Abdul Razzaq about Afridi eating dog meat since he was barking like a dog. Shahid Afridi took offense to this statement and, while appearing on Samaa TV, asked Pathan to say the same thing to his face.

"I consider only a man a man who speaks openly. Anyone can say anything behind someone's back, but the real fun is when they say it directly so they can respond,” Afridi said on Saama TV.

He taunted Pathan, saying, "He just wants to show off what a great Indian he is. Poor guy, he'll keep trying to prove it all his life. He should be thankful that India didn't have space at that time. Bowlers with speeds of 120-125 got a chance." 

However, the on-field statistics are in Pathan's favor. He dismissed Afridi nine times in 154 balls across formats, an average of once every 17 balls. 

Now replying to Afridi’s threat of coming face-to-face, Irfan Pathan dismissed suggestions that he should confront Pakistan players directly.

“And those who say ‘say it to our face’—I’ve dismissed such players 10 times, 20 times, and I’ll dismiss them again. If they can’t survive on the field, how will they survive off the field? Ashwin made a very good point on his YouTube channel about this, and he’s right. Aamna-saamna hoga zaroor aur woh banda tik nahi paayega [But whenever the chance comes, there will be face-to-face, and they won’t last],” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, he praised the Indian opening duo of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, who added 105 runs for the first wicket inside 10 overs, easing India’s chase of a 172-run target against Pakistan in Dubai in their Super Four stage match.

Abhishek made 74 in 39 balls and was named Player of the Match, while Shubman Gill slammed 47 in 28 balls.

Pathan said, “Yesterday, there was a lot of aggression, a lot of banter. Even Abhishek Sharma, during the post-match presentation, said that the Pakistani players were saying things they shouldn’t have. That’s why, when he and others like Shubman Gill posted on social media, the message was clear: ‘You keep talking, we’ll keep winning.’”

Pathan emphasized that Indian cricket has traditionally preferred silence and focus over needless chatter but stressed that provocation would not be ignored anymore.

“We Indians, even the former players, don’t get disturbed. We have always quietly played our cricket—in the past and today—and we will continue in the future. But don’t expect that if you start something, whether you are an Australian, Pakistani, or anyone else, that we will stay silent. We will respond—with our bat and with our words,” Pathan stated.

India will next play Bangladesh in the Super Four on September 24.