Irfan Pathan provided financial aid to a cobbler who works for Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), amid the financial crisis that occurred due to the coronavirus lockdown and the infinite postponement of the IPL 2020. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik took to Twitter to share Irfan Pathan's noble deeds with his fans. "Special stuff @IrfanPathan. Well done and to many more such small deeds of generosity from everyone. Sweet of you @RaunakRK to bring up to light such positive stuff as well during these grim times," Dinesh Karthik said while retweeting a journalist's post explaining Irfan Pathan's philanthropic work.
According to the report mentioned in the tweet, a cobbler named Bhaskaran worked as CSK's official cobbler and operated from a small workstation outside the Players and Match Officials area during the match days.
Pathan donated a sum of Rs 25,000 to Bhaskaran, the salary he used to get from his work with CSK.
The left-arm fast bowler featured in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is for India, bagging 301 wickets across all formats. He also managed to score 2,821 runs studded with a single hundred and 11 half-centuries.
Pathan donned the India jersey for the first time in Test cricket when he played against Australia at Adelaide in 2003. India won that match by four wickets and Pathan picked his maiden wicket in the game.
Pathan also played a major role in uplifting Jammu and Kashmir cricket team as he performed the role of mentor-cum-coach for the team. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in January this year.