IPL 2025: The official commentary panel for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was announced on Friday, and notably, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan’s name was absent from the list.
Pathan was a mainstay of the commentary panel in past seasons. As per a recent report, complaints were filed by several Indian cricketers against Pathan, alleging that his critical remarks aimed at them are driven by personal agendas rather than objective analysis.
According to MyKhel, during the Australia series, one of the Indian players was so angry with Irfan Pathan’s commentary on his performance that he allegedly resorted to blocking Pathan’s phone number, claiming he could not tolerate the criticism.
“Otherwise, his (Pathan’s) name would have been there. It’s been happening for the last two years as he was carrying his personal agendas against certain players and that didn’t go down well with the system,” a source was quoted as saying by the website.
Besides Irfan Pathan, many renowned commentators faced consequences after players complained about their on-air remarks. Serious complaints against Harsha Bhogle and Sanjay Manjrekar, both of whom have had critical views about Indian cricketers, led them to lose their commentary assignments upon complaints from players.
Manjrekar bore the consequences in 2020 when he was allegedly removed from the BCCI’s commentary panel for India’s ODI series against South Africa. This decision was taken in the wake of many controversies in 2019, including an open feud with fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle, a slight against Sourav Ganguly, and a derogatory comment against Ravindra Jadeja, which branded him a “bits and pieces cricketer”.
“I have always considered commentary as a great privilege, but never an entitlement. It is up to my employers whether they choose to have me or not & I will always respect that. Maybe BCCI has not been happy with my performance of late. I accept that as a professional,” Manjrerkar had posted on X following the decision.
“I still don’t know why I am not doing the IPL. I can accept the fact that people don’t like me. But I genuinely hope it isn’t because cricketers have complained about what I have to say,” Bhogle wrote on his Facebook page following the development.
