New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Former India left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that a cricketer can build a lasting legacy only by staying with a single IPL franchise, though he acknowledged that retention rules and auction dynamics often leave players with little control over their long-term association.

Pathan’s comments come at a time when rumours around Hardik Pandya’s future in Mumbai Indians (MI) have been subject to immense speculation. “If you want to create a legacy as a player, you can do that only by staying with one franchise, if you get that opportunity. But usually, that doesn’t happen. My first team was Punjab, and I played there for three years.

“In the fourth year, Punjab wanted me to stay, but due to the retention rules and other such reasons, they couldn’t retain any players. Nobody was retained. So, sometimes these things are not in the players’ hands either. The franchise wants it too,” said Pathan on JioHotstar’s series ‘Cheeky Singles’.

He also highlighted how retention constraints often force teams to part ways with players they groomed, citing Shubman Gill’s exit from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as an example. “Take KKR, for example. I’m sure the players who left, if asked whether they wanted to leave, would say no. A player like Shubman Gill, they would have wanted to keep him.

“They groomed him and picked him first. But sometimes circumstances are such that you simply can’t retain players. If you get the chance to stay with one franchise, let go of a few things, build your legacy, and stay with that team,” he added.

Recalling his stint with the Punjab franchise during the 2009 IPL in South Africa, Pathan shared a fond memory of co-owner Preity Zinta making parathas for the team after a victory. “When we went to South Africa, we lost a few matches at the start. Everyone was upset, including our boss, Preity Zinta.

“She gathered the entire team and said, ‘Look, if you win the next match, I’ll host a party for all of you with Indian food, and I’ll make parathas for you.’ Everyone was already craving Indian food. In the very next game, we won a low-scoring match. True to her word, Preity fulfilled her promise. She gathered all the players at the hotel and made parathas.

“Playing is our job; we didn’t do anything extraordinary, but she is such a lovely lady, so warm and caring. Even when we lost regularly, and despite being disappointed, she would attend team meetings, speak to us, ask how we could improve, and never lose her cool,” he elaborated.

Addressing the issue of social media misinformation and online trolling, Pathan opened up about a fake report claiming Pakistani skipper Babar Azam had denied him an interview.

“The trolling and fake attribution happen every day. The media in our neighbouring country once ran a story claiming that I had gone to interview Babar Azam and that he refused because, according to him, ‘He trolls our country, so I won’t give him an interview.’ It was a complete lie.

“Someone had photoshopped my face onto a picture. The person in the original image was a young Bangladeshi reporter who had gone to the ground for the first time and was refused an interview. They literally put my face on his body and spread the story.

“It got over a million views, and people believed it was me. This happens every day, but I don’t respond. Every day, some lie is told in our name or about some player. If you keep responding to everyone, you won’t be able to live your life,” he concluded.

–IANS

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