The IPL 2025 season kicked off on March 22, 2025, at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens with an electrifying opener between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. While cricket fever gripped fans, many quickly noticed the absence of a familiar voice behind the mic—Irfan Pathan. The former Indian all-rounder, who has been a regular in the IPL commentary box over the past few seasons, was missing from the official commentator lineup released by the BCCI. His unexpected omission has sparked widespread speculation and questions about why Irfan Pathan is not part of the commentary panel for IPL 2025.
Irfan Pathan was snubbed over complaints of bias from players
According to a report by MyKhel, Irfan Pathan has been removed from the commentary panel after multiple complaints raised by current Indian cricketers. The players reportedly accused the former cricketer of biased commentary and alleged that he had carried personal agendas against certain individuals. The report also stated that Pathan’s attitude during interviews with certain players was seen as problematic, which reportedly didn’t sit well with the BCCI. The source said:
“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. Otherwise, his name would have been there.”
Allegedly, one player was so upset with Irfan Pathan’s comments during the recent Australia series that he blocked the former cricketer’s number. There have also been speculations about whether Pathan’s exit was somehow linked to his criticism of Virat Kohli during the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Before Irfan, former commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar was also dropped from the panel due to his controversial remarks in 2020. He was reportedly removed by the BCCI after referring to Ravindra Jadeja as a ‘bits and pieces’ player. Prior to that, Harsha Bhogle was unexpectedly removed from the IPL commentary team in 2016, allegedly without any clear explanation.
After getting snubbed from IPL 2025, Ifran Pathan launches his YouTube show
Recently, Irfan Pathan has been focusing on expanding his social media presence. While he hasn’t directly addressed his absence from the IPL 2025 commentary panel, he did launch a new YouTube show titled Seedhi Baat with Irfan Pathan. He’s been actively promoting the show on his Instagram handle. In his announcement post, where he wrote “Mic on, filter off,” Irfan promised fans unfiltered and candid insights into the world of cricket.
Within hours of going live, Pathan’s channel has attracted thousands of subscribers, with fans waiting to get insights into what really goes on in the field. The former all-rounder has already started sharing his comments on IPL 2025.
Well, it seems that despite being sidelined from the commentary panel at IPL 2025, Irfan Pathan is not planning to stay silent anytime soon!
Also Read: Shah Rukh Khan, Virat Kohli, Rinku Singh Set IPL ’25 Stage An Fire With ‘Pathaan’ And ‘Dunki’ Steps
