IPL news: Irfan Pathan lashes out at Yusuf Pathan's critics with a bold tweet

What's the story?

Irfan Pathan lashed out on Twitter on Monday, 28th April against the critics of brother Yusuf Pathan with a tweet comprising a statistical analysis of the veteran IPL star.

In case you didn't know...

With 3201 runs, 42 wickets and three titles to his name, Yusuf Pathan is one of the most prolific players in the history of IPL. The 36-year-old has represented the Rajasthan Royals (2008-2010) and Kolkata Knight Riders (2011-2017) before joining Sunrisers Hyderabad last season. A destructive batsman, Yusuf has managed just 37 runs in nine matches at an average of 18.50 for the Hyderabad franchise this season. For Sunrisers, the major chunk of runs has come from the openers David Warner (611 runs in 12 matches) and Jonny Bairstow (445 runs in 10 matches) who have been rock-solid at the top of the order.

The middle order hasn't quite lived up to the expectations with the likes of Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan being inconsistent with the bat. Though Manish Pandey found his rhythm with a sublime 61 off 36 balls against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, it wasn't enough to set a big target for the hosts at Jaipur as other batsmen failed to get going.

The heart of the matter

Meanwhile, Irfan Pathan came up to his brother's rescue after the latter was questioned owing to his poor form. Irfan came up with the stats silenced the critics with his tweet.

9 matches, 5 not outs, didn't bat twice. Faced a total of just 41 balls this IPL. So ppl who talk abt his performance don't forget this stat.He is the only match winner to bat so down in the order and win 16 man of the matches @iamyusufpathan

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 27, 2019

In spite of struggling with lack of game time and poor form, the hard-hitting Yusuf Pathan still has the firepower in him to deliver in crunch situations and is undoubtedly a match-winner. It's indeed sad to see a player of his calibre struggling for runs while representing a team that desperately needs its middle order to perform well.

What's next?

With 10 points in 11 matches, Sunrisers must win their remaining three fixtures to have any chance of making the playoffs. With no Bairstow and Warner (will leave after the game against Kings XI Punjab), the Sunrisers must be at their very best in all departments to qualify for the last four.