For Irfan Pathan, Delhi without Chole Bhature is like cricket without a ball: unthinkable! The former India all-rounder, whose Instagram often doubles as a travel-and-food log, is known to track down a plate of the capital’s famous bhaturas and chole every time he’s in town. But on his most recent trip, that well-worn routine almost fell apart, until someone stepped in!
Irfan Pathan Almost Missed Chole Bhature
Irfan Pathan took to Instagram to share that his work commitments in Delhi stretched longer than he had expected, leaving him in a tight dash to the airport. Between meetings and boarding calls, Pathan tried a quick fix and placed an online order of Chole Bhature.
The effort failed spectacularly when the delivery was sent to the wrong address. By his own admission on Instagram, he had resigned himself to a flight without his favourite meal. “Whenever I’m in Delhi, having Chole Bhature is a must – but it looked like this time I’d have to miss it,” he wrote.
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Air India Stepped In
That’s when an unlikely saviour emerged; these were not his assistants or friends but two Air India staffers at Delhi airport. Bansidhar and Deepak, as Pathan named them, found a way to get him a fresh serving before he boarded. “That’s when Bansidhar and Deepak from Air India stepped in at the airport and helped me get Chole Bhature right there! Cravings satisfied. Thank you for turning my rushed travel day into a happy (and delicious) one!” the cricketer posted, along with a video that showed him mid-air, smiling broadly over a tray loaded with the golden, fluffy bread and its rich companion of spicy chhole.
The clip struck a chord with followers, not just because of the food, but because it revealed an unguarded moment: an athlete with hundreds of matches behind him, quietly pleased over a plate of street-style comfort food. Comments poured in, applauding the airline employees for going beyond their call of duty and teasing Pathan for his single-minded determination to get his meal.
This video, however, was more than a social media anecdote. It was a rare intersection of sport, food, and travel. A missed delivery led to a small act of service that transformed a rushed airport experience into a story worth telling, one in which the star wasn’t just Pathan or the dish, but the people who made sure the two met before take-off.
Cover Image Courtesy: irfanpathan_official/Instagram
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