By IANS,
Kolkata: They hug and put their hands on each other’s shoulders time and again. And they were quick to come to one another’s rescue whenever the situation got tricky at a media interaction here.
The bonhomie between Indian cricket’s Pathan brothers – Yusuf and Irfan – was very visible Monday. The Pathans of Vadodara were at a function organised by a telecom services company at a city hotel.
When Yusuf, two years older than Irfan, was asked about life without his brother in the Indian team, he shot back: “I am with Irfan all the time throughout life.”
The questioner’s allusion was to Yusuf’s selection for the coming Sri Lanka tri-series and the Champions Trophy in South Africa, while Irfan has failed to make the cut.
“Last season also, Irfan was not there. But when I am in a team, then the team comes first, and not Irfan,” said the elder Pathan.
Irfan lost no time in defending his brother when a scribe asked him about Yusuf’s earlier statement that the pacer had been dropped for reasons other than cricket.
“Let me make it very clear. He never said so. Had he said so, the recording would have been there. It was one journalist who did this to further his own career,” the junior Pathan pointed out.
Asked the secret of both brothers making it to top flight cricket, Yusuf joked: “I have to ask my mother kaun se chakki ke ata khilayi tha (what went into our nourishment)”?
The elder Pathan said it was an arduous task for them to play against the other. “We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths so well. It is difficult to face each other.”
Asked whether the junior Pathan will marry first as he has already gone public about his fiance Shivangi Deb, Irfan said: “No, he (Yusuf) will marry first. Nahi to bhayya naaraz ho jayenge na?” (Otherwise my brother will get angry)
Yusuf said his family is looking for a match for him. “If they can get the right girl, I’ll marry.”