Will always respond with dignity, love: Irfan Pathan tells trollers

Indian pacer Irfan Pathan has often been on the radar of trolls on social media. Be it for posting a photograph with wife Safa Baig or celebrating Rakshabandhan, the Baroda cricketer has received backlash from various sections of the society.
However, Pathan, one of India's finest all-rounders, believes there's no point responding to the 'so-called haters' as there's no appeasing them all.

In an exclusive telephonic conversation with ANI, the southpaw shared how he believes in managing social media accounts properly, and not getting carried away with the reactions of the people.

"I always believe there are lots of friends and fans who love and respect me and that is the most important thing for me. There are always going to be haters. There are always going to be some people who will say negative about you. And my reaction is not for them. I don't even tag them when I reply to them because I don't want to give anything to them. I will always react with love," said Pathan.

"I always manage social media very carefully. You need to be careful because there are a lot of fake accounts. Using those fake accounts, there are lots of people who say things which they cannot say from their own profile. And yes, there are people with real accounts as well and they express their opinions in terms of talking negative about certain things," he added.

The left-armer further insisted that he always tries to put forward his stance with dignity, ensuring he doesn't go overboard.

"I always make sure I keep my dignity and I don't go overboard. I don't use foul language. I make sure if I want to send my message across, I do it with dignity and with strong words I do it. I don't go there and clarify all the times because it's not required. If you know you are doing the right thing, you do what you believe in and as well as I am happy, I am not too bothered about it," said the Indian all-rounder.

The 32-year-old asserted that he always focuses on controlling things which can be controlled by him like his reaction to social media trolls.

"I just read things and even before I come out with a reaction, I control myself. I always make sure I control what I can control rather than controlling what people are saying and what they are not saying," he said.

For the unversed, Pathan was trolled this week for sharing a snap of himself celebrating 'Rakshabandhan'.

The incident came weeks after Pathan was severely slammed on social media for sharing a snap with his wife Safa Baig. The seamer was at the receiving end with his fans terming the photograph as 'un-Islamic.'

-ANI