Irfan Pathan talks about batting technique, apologizes to Sunil Gavaskar. Sunil Gavaskar struck dumbfound by Irfan Pathan’s evaluation of KL Rahul’s batting in the first innings.
In the first Test of the series against South Africa, Irfan Pathan was overheard discussing KL Rahul’s batting plans. In the same spirit, an interesting occurrence occurred when the former Indian all-rounder apologized to Sunil Gavaskar during a live TV conversation. Gavaskar, however, refused to accept Rahul’s apologies after being captivate by the former India all-rounder’s critique of his batting.
In the first innings, Rahul hit 101 (137) against the Proteas, including 14 boundaries and four maximums. Pathan spoke about Rahul’s balance in that innings, and his appraisal spot-on that Gavaskar left dumbfounded. Meanwhile, knowing that he had gone on too long shouting, Irfan heard apologizing to the Little Master. “Sorry, sir.”
“First and foremost, Sunny sir had explained how he should play underneath his mind in terms of technique. It’s usually a subject of contention for batters whether they stretch their legs forward or back while playing the ball. In Rahul’s situation, he is allowing the ball to come to him, which is essential. Aside from that, the location of his bat was a fantastic aspect of his batting.
The bat’s angle is somewhat behind his hands and not in line with them. That gives you that little bit of more time. You’ll fumble and wind up playing the ball on your toes if you don’t. “That’s where the chances of edge increased,” Pathan stated during the first day’s lunch break.
“Sir, please accept my apologies,” he added, before Gavaskar replied, “no problem.”
“However, if you keep the bat at that angle, you’ll have plenty of time.” This is a master class for young guys. “You can actually hold the bat softly if there is help in the pitch,” he noted.
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He apologized to me, but I refused because I had learned something new today: Sunil Gavaskar
Meanwhile, former India icon Sunil Gavaskar appeared during the conversation and claimed that he would not accept Irfan Pathan’s apologies. The former cricketer revealed that he had learned something from Pathan while the latter was detailing KL Rahul’s batting tactics.
“He apologized to me, but I refuse to accept it because I learned something new today.” You will always learn as long as you remain a student of the game, and it will only benefit you. I had never considered it before, but this is such a profound discovery in terms of technique. I’m not surprised because he’s an all-arounder. “He studied Rahul’s batting from a bowler’s perspective,” Gavaskar responded.
Surprisingly, after hearing Gavaskar’s brilliant comment, Pathan conveyed his gratitude with an emotional message on X (formerly- Twitter).
“Gratitude fills me today, and it’s not just any day — thank you, Sunny sir, for the encouraging words.” Pathan wrote on his ‘X’ handle, “Truly made my year.”
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