NEW DELHI: After an old interview clip of Irfan Pathan went viral on social media - where he remarked that he couldn't please anyone by setting up a hookah in someone's room, indirectly accusing MS Dhoni of favouring players who did that - another clip of the former India all-rounder has now started doing the rounds.

In that clip, the host asked him who his first friends were in the Indian cricket team.

"Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Ye teen jo khiladi hote they, na to ye mere bina khana khate they, na to mai inke bina khana khata tha. Itni hamari zabarzast yaari thi jab hum saath mai khelte they [These three players never ate without me, and I never ate without them. That's how strong our friendship was when we played together]." Pathan replied candidly.

His remarks were in complete contrast to what he said in the other clip as he went on to highlight the camaraderie he shared with Dhoni and other players.

Pathan revealed details of candid conversations he once had with Dhoni regarding his place in the team.

"Yes, I asked him. During the 2008 Australia series, Mahi bhai's statement came out in the media that Irfan wasn't bowling well. So I thought I had bowled well throughout the series, so I went and asked Mahi bhai about this. Sometimes, the statements are twisted in the media, so I also wanted to clarify. So Mahi bhai said, 'no Irfan, there is nothing like this, everything's going as per plans.' When you get a reply like this, then you believe that okay, you do what you can. Also if you keep asking for explanations again and again after that, you hurt your self-respect," he said in an interview with SportsTak five years ago.

"I don't have a habit of setting up hookah in someone's room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes if you don't speak about it, it's better. A cricketer's job is to perform on the field and that is what I used to focus on," he further said.

Over the course of his career, Pathan featured in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is for India. He scored 2,821 runs across formats, registering one century and eleven fifties, while with the ball he picked up 301 wickets, including a memorable Test hat-trick against Pakistan.