All-rounder Irfan Pathan is striving hard to bring the right shape to his swing and find a way back in the Indian team. After delivering an impressive spell in the domestic T20s at the Wankhede stadium, he was swamped by his fans for autographs, to which he readily obliged.
But he often encounters a different kind of fans on social media who test his patience now and then. For every supportive fan there is also a nasty one. Irfan has been trolled on everything – from naming his son Imran to his wife wearing hijab.
Irfan had named his son Imran because his mother had affinity for the name but some of his Twitter followers had questioned his choice, accusing him of naming him after the Pakistan fast bolwer. “On social media you have to be very careful. There will be a lot of people who will talk just to provoke you. As a public figure I have to be very careful on what sort of words to use,” he told India Today.
“Naam chahe jo bhi rakhenge lekin ek baat pakki hai wo bhi papa or bade papa ki tarah is mulk ka naam roshan hi karega #withlove,” was Irfan’s tweet then.
The Baroda based cricket star has also faced apathy of social media around his wife who had been a model and has been wearing hijab after marriage. “She is an educated independent individual with her own preferences,” was Irfan’s tweet at the time.
“But there are lots of people who love me. Their prayers and wishes help to keep me going. That’s the way it goes. A lot of people support me except one or two guys, which doesn’t change much for me,” he said.
Irfan had recently narrated an incident from his tour of Pakistan when a girl asked him why he played for India despite being a Muslim. He had told her that he played for India as he was an Indian. “What we do is nothing compared to our jawans but being cricketers we at least get a chance to play for India and contribute,” he said.