Out-of-favour India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who was dropped as the captain of the Baroda Ranji Trophy team, hinted at favouritsm as the real reason behind his ouster. The 33-year-old's hopes of making a comeback into the Indian team received a huge setback after he was sacked as the skipper of Baroda following two rounds and then dropped from the 15-member squad for their match against Tripura. Baroda, who are playing against Tripura on Wednesday, are being led by Deepak Hooda.
Baroda has so far played two matches - against Madhya Pradesh and Adhra Pradesh. While they lost the first match by 8 wickets, they managed to draw their second.
The decision to sack Irfan came as a surprise to many as the veteran all-rounder scored a knock of 80 runs against Madhya Pradesh and took 1 wicket each in the two games.
Pathan took to Twitter to make his displeasure known with a cryptic message.
"Not wishing Good Morning and not being a YES man to ur boss can go against u... but don't bother, keep doing ur work," he tweeted.
In a recent interview, Pathan said he has no clue on why he was dropped from the side.
"I am as fit as ever and there is no issue with my performances and commitment to serve Team Baroda. I felt very proud when I was made the captain and was told that I would be the perfect mentor to the youngsters.
"I have worked hard with the boys for the last couple of months and they are very happy with whatever we have been doing. I really don't know what has gone wrong after just two games. Had I been told that my services won't be required before the domestic season started, I would have happily stepped aside," Pathan told the Ahmedabad Times.
Meanwhile, Baroda Cricket Association secretary Snehal Parikh said Irfan was dropped to the youngsters in the side a chance.
"See, Irfan has played the first two matches, we have a system and we will have to follow it, this has been done to make a young team. We have to give the youngsters a chance," Parikh said.
