Former Indian cricketer and Lucknow Super Giants spinner Amit Mishra has opened up about his infamous spat with Irfan Pathan during a recent interaction. Mishra stated that he received a lot of flak for his comments on Irfan in 2022, but he made the statement from the heart and continues to stand by it.
Back in 2022, Irfan Pathan wrote a post on X (then Twitter), taking an apparent jibe at the communal violence in some parts of the country where he wrote, “My country, my beautiful country, has the potential to be the greatest country on earth. BUT………”
In reply, Mishra had stated that India indeed had the potential to be the greatest country in the world if some people realized that the constitution is the first book to be followed.
He wrote, “My country, my beautiful country, has the potential to be the greatest country on earth…..only if some people realise that our constitution is the first book to be followed.”
Pathan further hit back at his former teammate and urged him to re-read the constitution, "Always followed this and I urge each citizen of our beautiful country to follow this. Please read and re-read..."
In a recent episode of the Shubhankar Mishra podcast, Amit Mishra stuck by his comments stating, "It was the first book to be followed. Yes, that's right. Although I received a lot of abuses, I also received a lot of love, much more than those abuses… But I spoke from the heart. If you follow the rules in ten other countries you visit, why not in India? India is also a country with rules and regulations; follow them. What's the problem? If you have a problem, leave,"
Mishra also stated that he now keeps his distance from Pathan and only goes as far as shaking hands with him, never hugging him.
"I used to shake hands with him. I never hugged him. I maintain my distance. I keep relationships as they are. I love my close friends. The ones who are commercial, are commercial. The close ones are close," Mishra stated
