Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has provided a dramatic new detail to his long-standing rivalry with Shahid Afridi, revealing a heated verbal exchange on a flight that he claims “silenced” the former Pakistan captain for good. The revelation, made during an interview with the YouTube channel Lallantop, has since been backed by Afridi’s former teammate, Danish Kaneria.
Pathan recounted an incident from India’s 2006 tour of Pakistan, when both teams were traveling on the same flight from Karachi to Lahore. The altercation began when Afridi approached Pathan, messed up his hair, and taunted him by asking, “How are you kid?”
“I thought since when did you become my father,” Pathan recalled. He explained that Afridi’s “childish behavior” escalated, with the Pakistani all-rounder using “bad things” to verbally abuse him.
However, Pathan, known for his sharp wit, had a perfect retort. While seated next to his teammate Abdul Razzaq, Pathan asked, “What kind of meat is available here?” When Razzaq replied, Pathan delivered a savage jibe: “I asked whether dog meat is available. Razzaq was surprised… I replied that he [Afridi] has eaten dog meat, that’s why he has been barking for so long.”
According to Pathan, the comment instantly ended the spat. “After this, Afridi could not say anything,” he concluded. “He understood from this incident that he would not be able to fight me verbally.”
The incident adds a new layer to their famous rivalry, which Pathan says began when Afridi called him a “fake Pathan” early in his career. The former India star said that comment fueled his determination, as he went on to dismiss Afridi a remarkable 11 times in international cricket.
The story gained further traction after former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria supported Pathan’s account on X (formerly Twitter). “Irfan @IrfanPathan bhai, you’re absolutely right. He always resorts to personal attacks—be it on someone’s family or their religion. Class and decency clearly aren’t his strengths,” Kaneria posted, rekindling the fiery debate around the two cricketing legends.