Recently, an old video of Irfan Pathan on former India skipper MS Dhoni and few others indulging in ‘hookah’ sessions went viral again. The former all-rounder’s response came while speaking about him getting dropped from the Indian team in 2008 while MS Dhoni was captain.
Now, former India player Manoj Tiwary has also backed Pathan’s claim regarding the same. He acknowledged the ongoing claims and added that siding with the skipper in such activities would help players cement their place in the playing XI in the long run.
Speaking in an interview with Insidesport, Tiwary revealed, “We have seen from close quarters. There were sessions where Hookah was taken and players who were closer to the captain were present in the room. Players were very smart enough to make sure that some buttering was done to get help from the captain if required.”
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Interestingly, both players were dropped from the Indian side during MS Dhoni’s tenure as leader, rather unceremoniously without proper communication and reason – a thought echoed by other former cricketers like Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh amongst others.
Pathan’s international career concluded unexpectedly in 2012, despite a five-wicket performance in his final ODI match.
On the other hand, Manoj Tiwary, who began his career for India while MS Dhoni was captain, could only play in 12 ODIs and 3 T20Is. Tiwary has earlier also stated that he felt a lack of backing from Dhoni during this time. This perception was fueled by his exclusion from the lineup immediately after scoring his first ODI century against the West Indies. Although he delivered a strong all-round performance in a later comeback game against Sri Lanka, he was once again left out of the squad.
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