Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan will not be a part of the commentary team for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) season. According to a report, Irfan has not been included in the commentary panel for IPL 2025. Since his retirement from the sport, Irfan has been a regular member of the commentary panel in the IPL, becoming one of the most recognisable voices of the game. However, Pathan was nowhere to be seen during the opening match of IPL 2025 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday.
According to a report in the Times of India (TOI), Irfan has been snubbed from the panel as the “broadcasters were not happy with him bringing in personal grudges on-air and even on his social media handle.”
“Pathan had a fallout with a couple of players a few years ago. Since then, he has not shied away from referring to them aggressively. The matter was raised that other junior players got caught in the crossfire. He has been accused of taking potshots at them on social media platform even if he didn’t name them,” the report quoted a BCCI source as saying.
For the unversed, the 40-year-old launched his own YouTube channel “Seedhi Baat With Irfan Pathan” on March 22. He will be providing in-depth analysis of the game on the same.
However, Irfan is not the first high-profile player to be stripped off the commentary duties. In 2020, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar was removed from the commentary panel by BCCI for India’s ODI series against South Africa for his controversial ‘bits and pieces’ remark on Ravindra Jadeja during the 2019 ODI World Cup.
“I have always considered commentary as a great privilege, but never an entitlement. It is up to my employers whether they choose to have me or not & I will always respect that. Maybe BCCI has not been happy with my performance of late. I accept that as a professional,” Manjrerkar posted on social media after being snubbed.
In 2016, veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle was not included in the commentary panel for the IPL.
“I still don’t know why I am not doing the IPL. I can accept the fact that people don’t like me. But I genuinely hope it isn’t because cricketers have complained about what I have to say,” Bhogle had posted on social media.
On Saturday, RCB beat KKR by 7 wickets in the IPL 2025 opener.
