Former Pakistan cricketer 'surprised' with Irfan Pathan's dance with Rashid Khan

The Afghanistan cricket team scripted history by getting the better of Pakistan for the first time in ODIs at the 2023 World Cup. The Afghan cricketers marked this historic feat with exuberant celebrations at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan joined the joyous celebrations and was seen dancing with Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan.

Well, Pathan’s dance with Rashid did not go down well with ex-Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal. The former Pakistan wicketkeeper revealed that he was surprised by Pathan’s reaction.

“I was surprised at Irfan Pathan's dance. I remember India beating Pakistan in Australia; even then this kind of happiness wasn’t seen. But there seems to be greater joy in Afghanistan defeating Pakistan. It was sad to see – not just for me but for the nation. The broadcasters should think about this – neutral commentators shouldn’t do this,” Akmal reportedly told Ary News.

Later, Pathan revealed the real reason behind his dance with Rashid. Sharing an interesting note on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Pathan wrote, “Rashid Khan fulfilled his promise and I fulfilled mine. Well done, guys.”

The spectacular win against Pakistan helped Afghanistan reach their previous highest successful ODI run chase of 274 achieved against the UAE nine years back. Earlier, Afghanistan pulled off a major upset of the World Cup 2023 having defeated the reigning champions England by 69 runs.

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On the other hand, the eight-wicket defeat has left Pakistan reeling at the fifth spot in the World Cup 2023 standings. Pakistan have been winless in their last three World Cup fixtures.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam pointed out his side’s poor bowling as the reason behind the loss to Afghanistan. “In a World Cup, if you are not good even in one department, you lose. We started well while bowling, but we couldn’t take wickets. All credit to Afghanistan. We are not playing good cricket, [especially] in bowling and fielding … There was no pressure on their batsmen,” Babar said during the post-match interview.

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