Picture Credit: Twitter
The former cricketers Irfan Pathan and Ramiz Raja were involved in a lighthearted conversation during the live broadcast of the ODI World Cup 2023 recently. But, when Ramiz Raja stated that Babar Azam had a weak Pakistan batting lineup to contend with, in comparison to the strong batting lineup for Virat Kohli in the Indian cricket team, Irfan Pathan had a brutal response, which shocked his opposing counterpart.
Notably, the ODI World Cup 2023 began with a bang in India on October 5, when the runners-up from 2019, New Zealand got the better of the defending champions England by nine wickets. In the next two matches of the flagship tournament, Pakistan defeated Netherlands by 81 runs, while Bangladesh brushed aside the challenge of Afghanistan by six wickets.
Also Read: ODI World Cup 2023: Bangladesh defeat Afghanistan comprehensively by six wickets
Cricxtasy, the sports news website, reported about the hilarious conversation between Ramiz Raja and Irfan Pathan. The former ODI World Cup winner for Pakistan was quoted as saying, “Virat Kohli used to play with strong batting line-up. Pakistan's batting line-up is weak, Babar doesn't get the same support.”
Upon hearing that, the former T20 World Cup winner for India, Irfan Pathan talked about how Virat Kohli was the only batter from India to be in the top five rankings in ODIs till 2018, while Babar Azam is one of three batters from Pakistan to be in the top five rankings in the 50 overs format since 2020.
His response read, “Till 2018 Virat Kohli was the only India batter in top five ODI rankings. Since 2020, there are three batters of Pakistan in top five rankings.” Ramiz Raja was instantly shocked, without any reply to the brutal comment from Irfan Pathan moments ago, but since the conversation was lighthearted, they moved on from it quickly.
