Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan’s old video, making a cheeky remark on MS Dhoni, is going viral on social media. While talking about an incident about his performance during the 2008 tri-series in Australia, Pathan revealed his chat with MS Dhoni and made a sly dig involving a hookah at the former captain.

Irfan Pathan played for India from 2003 to 2012, with his last Test for India coming in 2008. He continued in limited-overs cricket till 2012 and was part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team. He was also part of the Indian team that won the tri-series in Australia in 2008, under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

However, injuries and form meant that Irfan Pathan played his final match for India in 2012, an ODI in which he picked up a five-wicket haul.

Only the selectors and the team management are aware of the precise reasons behind Irfan's exile from the Indian squad, but MS Dhoni, the skipper at the time, is also held accountable for the all-rounder's precarious condition.

Irfan revealed in 2020 that he had some frank discussions with Dhoni about his spot in the Indian squad. Social media users are sharing a five-year-old interview tape that went viral.

Irfan stated in an interview with Vikran Gupta of SportsTak that he spoke with Dhoni about his performances in 2008 after learning through the media that the captain wasn't happy with his bowling. However, Dhoni denied that there was a problem with his performance when Irfan questioned him.

"Yes, I asked him. During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi Bhai's statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn't bowling well. So, I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi Bhai about this. Sometimes, the statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify.

So, Mahi Bhai said, 'No, Irfan, there is nothing like this; everything's going as per plan.' When you get a reply like this, then you believe that, okay, you do what you can. Also, if you keep asking for explanations again and again after that, you hurt your self-respect," Pathan tells Gupta for Sports Tak in the video.

Pathan also took a cheeky dig at MS Dhoni, saying that he isn’t someone who would set up a hookah in someone’s (Dhoni’s) room to please him and talk to him.

"I don't have a habit of setting up a hookah in someone's room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes, if you don't speak about it, it's better. A cricketer's job is to perform on the field, and that is what I used to focus on," he further said.

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This old video has gone viral and reignited the debate about MS Dhoni’s role in the decline of Irfan Pathan’s India career.