Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan revealed on Thursday that he was hit by a nail by Pakistani fans once while he was playing for the Men in Blue in Peshawar.
Pathan made the revelation while he was doing commentary during the ICC World Cup 2023 match between India and Bangladesh.
"We were playing a game in Peshawar, a fan suddenly threw an iron nail at me which struck under my eye.
"We never made an issue out of that and always appreciated their hospitality. Pakistan should stop making issues on crowd behaviour in India," Pathan revealed on Star Sports.
Co-commentator and former India opener Aakash Chopra reacted to Pathan's statements in shock.
"Didn’t know that fans in Peshawar threw a nail at Irfan, which hit him under the eye. Remember the game getting stopped for a bit bcoz of fan trouble but it’s only today I got to know the exact reason. Well done, @IrfanPathan for keeping the big-picture in mind," Chopra tweeted.
Pathan later told Chopra that he only brought this up due to the misinformation and hate being spread by Pakistani fans on social media to show India in poor light.
"I Would have taken to my grave brother cos I think fans are the utmost important to this game and things do happen. But the narrative is set differently now days with some ppl trying to spread unnecessary negativity for their own benefit. So i spoke," Pathan responded.
The background
The topic was brought up in the commentary panel amid the row over the Ahmedabad crowd behaviour during last week's high-profile match between India and Pakistan.
Visuals of Indian fans chanting Jai Shri Ram at Muhammad Rizwan and booing Pakistan skipper Babar Azam went viral on social media after which the PCB lodged a complaint with the ICC over the "inappropriate" crowd behaviour.
Constant bickering of Pakistani fans & media
Pakistani fans and media have since been slamming Indians for their hospitality and the hostile reception they gave to Babar Azam & Co. in Ahmedabad. The ICC however, stated on Wednesday that no action can be taken as groups of people were at fault and not a particular individual.
But Pakistani fans are still going on with their rant against India and even started spreading fake news about a bomb blast in Bengaluru where their national team is currently based.
Spreading fake terror alarm
A cylinder blast caused a massive fire at a four-storey building which is near the M Chinnaswamy stadium where the Pakistani players were practicing on Wednesday.
But Pakistani fans and even some journalists from across the border stated that it was a bomb blast by terrorists and that India wasn't a safe country. They even demanded the World Cup matches be shifted out of India.
