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<\/p>\nLast Updated:August 16, 2025, 23:28 IST<\/p>\n
Irfan Pathan revealed his ‘tongue out’ celebration in the 2008 Perth Test was a response to racial taunts from the Australian crowd.<\/p>\n
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan (AP)<\/p>\n
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan recently shared several untold stories from his playing days, including the true inspiration behind his iconic \u2018tongue out\u2019 celebration during the 2008 Perth Test against Australia.<\/p>\n
India and Australia have always had a fierce on-field rivalry, characterised by intense competition and heated moments. The 2007-08 series was no exception, filled with controversies and spirited battles. During the Perth Test, while Irfan was fielding near the boundary, he was subjected to racial taunts from a section of the Australian crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was fielding at the boundary line, they targeted me by saying things like, \u2018You have eaten Indian curry, you\u2019re smelling like Indian curry.\u2019 The Australian crowd try to get under your skin,” Irfan was quoted as saying in an interview with The Lallantop.<\/p>\n
Instead of moving away, Irfan chose to respond in his own unique way. \u201cI didn\u2019t change my field position and instead gave them replies. \u201cWhen I took a wicket, I took my tongue out to indicate that my tongue is very clean and there\u2019s no smell. So, that celebration was for the crowd,” he explained.<\/p>\n
India went on to win that historic Perth Test by 72 runs, marking one of their most famous overseas victories. Irfan was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance, scoring 28 and 26 runs in the two innings and taking five wickets to help India bounce back in the series.<\/p>\n
When Irfan Pathan Was Dropped?<\/p>\n
However, alongside these highs, Irfan also faced career setbacks. He recalled how in 2009, despite performing well in Sri Lanka alongside his brother Yusuf Pathan \u2014 where India chased down 60 runs off just 27-28 balls \u2014 he was sidelined during the New Zealand tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was back in 2009, when we were in New Zealand. Before that, my brother (Yusuf Pathan) and I had won matches in Sri Lanka. The situation in which we had pulled a win \u2013 if it had been anyone else in our place, they wouldn\u2019t have been dropped for a year. In that match against Sri Lanka, we needed 60 runs from just 27-28 balls, and we won it from there,” Irfan was quoted as saying to The Lallantop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn New Zealand, I was benched for the first match, the second match, and the third match as well. The fourth match was a draw because of rain. I wasn\u2019t in the final match either. Then I asked Gary sir why I had been dropped. If there was something I needed to improve, he could tell me, but I wanted to know the reason I was left out,” he added.<\/p>\n
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More<\/p>\n Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More<\/p>\n view commentsNews<\/a> cricket<\/a> Irfan Pathan Reveals Story Behind ‘Tongue Out’ Celebration: ‘Smelling Like Indian Curry’Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:August 16, 2025, 23:28 IST Irfan Pathan revealed his ‘tongue out’ celebration in the 2008 Perth Test…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,32487,7875,57752,57753,2966,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-74564","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-india-vs-australia","12":"tag-irfan-pathan","13":"tag-irfan-pathan-interview","14":"tag-irfan-pathan-quotes","15":"tag-racism","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Ritayan Basu<\/a><\/p>\n