“What’s wrong…give an interview in Hindi?…”: Irfan Pathan comes in support of Ravindra Jadeja in the Hindi-English divide

What was the controversy?

It all started when all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja did not take any questions in English in an on-field press conference on Saturday. Jadeja had reportedly arrived late to the questioning session, and left without taking a question in English.

However, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has jumped to Jadeja’s defence, stating that there shouldn’t be a problem if a player chooses to answer only in Hindi.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) Pathan wrote⇩⇩

What’s wrong if the player wants to give interview in hindi?

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 22, 2024

Coming to the Australian media, the Aussie reporters were heard humming the terms “disorganized and hopeless” to refer to the acts of Ravindra Jadeja for not answering any questions in English.

Number one ICC ranked Test all rounder at the end of :-

2022 – Ravindra Jadeja.
2023 – Ravindra Jadeja.
2024 – Ravindra Jadeja.

No competition. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/CMXM7zbw92

— 🐜 (@AnantEverything) December 22, 2024

The press conference row also trickled over to Sunday, with Indian pacer Akash Deep not taking any questions in English. The fact that Akash Deep – a player who does not speak English – was sent to attend the media meet, was described as a “crystal clear message” from Team India to the Australian media by Australian news outlet Channel 7.

The hostility and animosity has increased to such an extent that a friendly T20 between media personnel from India and Australia has already been cancelled.

But the larger question which surrounds this incident is whether the ability to speak English judges a person’s ability to play cricket?