Irfan Pathan Posts Heartfelt Message for Elder Brother Yusuf After He Goes Unsold at IPL 2020 Player Auction

Yusuf Pathan was among the many IPL veterans that went unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 player auctions. Pathan, a 174-time capped IPL player, went as many as three times under the hammer but found no takers each time with teams overlooking the experienced all-rounder for young blooded cricketers. His brother and former Indian international, Irfan Pathan later took to social media to send Pathan senior a message and tell him there ‘small hiccups shouldn’t define’ a match-winner like him. Of the 332 players that had registered for the IPL 2020 player auctions, only 62 were sold with big names such as Pathan, Martin Guptill, Colin Munro and Evin Lewis going unsold at the IPL auctions in Kolkata. IPL 2020 Player Auction: Funny Memes Go Viral as Australia Players Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch Earn Big!

Moments after Yusuf Pathan went unsold in the entire 2020 IPL auctions, Irfan took to twitter and wrote: “Small hiccups doesn’t define your career, you have been outstanding thru out. A real match winner. Love you always Lala.” Pathan has been an IPL veteran on his own. Once regarded among the world’s best finishers – let alone India – the hard-hitting 37-year-old played an instrumental role in guiding a young and unfancied Rajasthan Royals team to the inaugural IPL title in 2008. Pathan was also an important member of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side that lifted the IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 under Gautam Gambhir. IPL 2020 Player Auction Live Streaming Online: Watch Free Live Telecast of VIVO Indian Premier League 13 Bidding Event on Star Sports and Hotstar.

Irfan Pathan's Message for Brother Yusuf After IPL Snub

He was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after KKR released him in 2017 and had been part of the Hyderabad franchise for the last two editions. But the all-rounder was released from the 2016 IPL champions’ squad ahead of the IPL 2020 player auctions in Kolkata with the Kane Williamson-led side going after youth players. SRH bought seven players in the just-concluded IPL 2020 auctions with five of them being all-rounders.

Pathan going unsold at the auctions was, however, not a surprise given his struggles in recent times. He set his base price at 1 Cr which when measured in his recent performances was a high risk for most franchise teams. In 15 IPL matches last season, Pathan only managed 260 runs at an average of 28.88 and without a single half-century. In 174 IPL career matches, Pathan scored a total of 2241 runs at a strike rate of 142.97 and was one of most demanding players in the early stages of the league.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2019 12:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).