Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan (Source: Google Images)

Irfan Pathan has been in the headlines recently because of his indirect jibes at MS Dhoni. The Baroda-born all-rounder had earlier questioned the fans’ attitude towards Dhoni and other cricketers, saying that the age factor was different for all players. In case you did not know, MS Dhoni seemed exhausted in the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as he had kept wickets for 20 overs and then batted a long inning.

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In yesterday’s match between the Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders, South African wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock donned the gloves behind the stumps for 20 overs. Then, he opened the innings for the Mumbai Indians and scored a match-winning half-century. Irfan Pathan compared de Kock’s fitness levels to Dhoni and wrote the following statement on Twitter:

“Keeping for 20 overs in the same game bats for 17 overs and still fresh. #QuintondeKock #Fitness. “
#fitness

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 16, 2020

The cricket universe must consider the fact that Quinton de Kock is a regular member of the South African cricket team. He keeps the wickets frequently for them, while MS Dhoni had not played cricket for over an year before keeping the wickets for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020.
Another factor to be considered here is that the humidity levels are high in the United Arab Emirates. Like MS Dhoni, even Ishan Kishan was seemingly tired in the match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore after playing a big knock here. While Dhoni has maintained his fitness levels, the humidity got the better of him against SRH. Still, he fought like a warrior and almost won the game for his team.
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