Irfan Pathan suggests charity farewell game for former cricketers; names custom ‘retired XI’

While India’s greatest ever sportsman, Sachin Tendulkar, received a fitting farewell from the BCCI in front of his home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the board has, however, come under fire for their treatment of other legendary cricketers. Neither of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were given proper send-offs by the BCCI and now the retirement of MS Dhoni has once again put the Indian board under the spotlight, with fans almost demanding the board to arrange a farewell game for the veteran in his hometown of Ranchi.

In the wake of the tussle between fans and the BCCI, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has come up with an interesting suggestion. The all-rounder, who himself announced his retirement earlier this year, took to Twitter to throw the idea of BCCI arranging an all-star game between retired Indian cricketers of the past and the existing crop of superstars. Pathan, who has now quickly shifted his base to commentary, suggested that the BCCI could arrange “a farewell game for retired players who didn't get a proper send-off from the game.” In fact, so invested was Pathan in the idea that he even named an XI of former Indian cricketers who he thought should feature in the charity game.

Pathan’s ‘Farewell XI’ featured the evergreen pairing of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag up top, while Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh occupied spots 3, 4 and 5. The recently-retired duo of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni occupied positions 6 and 7 in Pathan’s XI, while the 35-year-old slotted himself in at No.8 as the side’s lone all-rounder. Pragyan Ojha, who also announced his retirement earlier this year, was picked by Pathan as the side’s lone spinner, while Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar completed the southpaw’s farewell XI. 

Irfan Pathan’s Farewell XI:

Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Pragyan Ojha