Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that building a lasting legacy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is possible only when a player stays with a single franchise — but conceded that retention rules and auction dynamics routinely deny cricketers that choice. Pathan made the remarks on JioHotstar's chat series 'Cheeky Singles', with his comments arriving amid intense speculation over Hardik Pandya's long-term future at Mumbai Indians (MI).

On Franchise Loyalty and Legacy

'If you want to create a legacy as a player, you can do that only by staying with one franchise, if you get that opportunity. But usually, that doesn't happen,' Pathan said. He drew on his own experience, noting that his first IPL team was Punjab, where he played for three years. In the fourth year, the franchise wanted to keep him but was unable to do so because of retention regulations that prevented them from holding on to any player that cycle.

'The franchise wants it too,' he added, underscoring that the desire for continuity is often mutual — it is the structural rules of the league that intervene. This is a tension that has defined the IPL since its earliest seasons, with franchise-building repeatedly disrupted by mandatory auction resets.

The Shubman Gill Example

Pathan cited Shubman Gill's departure from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a textbook case of circumstances overriding intent. 'I'm sure the players who left, if asked whether they wanted to leave, would say no. A player like Shubman Gill — they would have wanted to keep him. They groomed him and picked him first. But sometimes circumstances are such that you simply can't retain players,' he said.

Gill, who developed significantly under KKR before moving to Gujarat Titans, went on to captain Gujarat and is now widely regarded as one of Indian cricket's premier batting talents — a trajectory that arguably vindicates KKR's early faith in him, even if the association could not be sustained.

A Fond Memory: Preity Zinta's Parathas in South Africa

Pathan also recalled a warm moment from the 2009 IPL season, which was hosted in South Africa. After a difficult start to the tournament, Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta gathered the squad and promised a home-cooked Indian meal — complete with parathas she would make herself — if they won their next match.

'Everyone was already craving Indian food,' Pathan said. Punjab won the game, and Zinta kept her word, cooking for the entire team at the hotel. 'Playing is our job; we didn't do anything extraordinary, but she is such a lovely lady, so warm and caring. Even when we lost regularly, and despite being disappointed, she would attend team meetings, speak to us, ask how we could improve, and never lose her cool,' he elaborated.

On Fake News and Social Media Trolling

Pathan also addressed a fabricated story that had circulated widely online, in which a photoshopped image placed his face on the body of a young Bangladeshi reporter who had been refused an interview at a cricket ground. The doctored image was accompanied by a false claim that Pakistan captain Babar Azam had denied Pathan an interview because, allegedly, 'He trolls our country.'

'It was a complete lie,' Pathan said. 'It got over a million views, and people believed it was me. This happens every day, but I don't respond. Every day, some lie is told in our name or about some player. If you keep responding to everyone, you won't be able to live your life.' The episode highlights a growing problem of digitally manipulated content targeting public figures in the cricket ecosystem, where misinformation spreads rapidly across borders.