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Two years after Mahendra Singh Dhoni found himself in the embrace of a female fan in front of the Eden Gardens, Irfan went through more or less a similar embarrassment when a 24-year-old of girl tried to plant a kiss on his cheek only to find the cricketer too tall to reach.
Shabina Khatun, who works with an insurance company in Kolkata, got a "life-time opportunity" to pose with Irfan and elder brother Yusuf after being selected as one of the three winners of a contest during a promotional event.
But after getting on the stage, she tried to get cosy with Irfan and attempted to kiss him.
"It was a rare opportunity to touch Irfan. I had thought about touching him and speaking to him. But what happened later on was on the spur of the moment and you have seen that all," Shabina, a resident of Park Circus, said.
It was not an intentional act, she insisted.
"I spoke to him and posed with him. I asked him about (his fiancee) Shivangi Dev also and later I asked him for a favour: to hug and kiss him. But he (Irfan) said, 'Shivangi would kill me if you do that'. Then I tried to kiss him, but failed to reach him," Shabina said.
Shabina was later mobbed by the media and had difficulty coming out from the hotel where the event was held.
Despite all the awkwardness, Shabina said she return home with fond memory of the incident.
"It feels great. After all, how many commoners get such a chance? So it felt great to have at least touched him," she said, surrounded by mediamen.