Dumped by the national selectors, Irfan Pathan was made to feel most wanted by a desperate female fan in Calcutta on Monday afternoon.

Shabina Haque, 24, dived at her 24-year-old cricket hero, almost managing to get through his defences and plant a kiss, while sharing the stage with him at a function in a city hotel.

“I did not do anything. I asked about his fiancee (Shivangi) and I just wanted to touch him and get a kiss from him,” the resident of Park Circus told Metro hours after her PDA (public display of affection) moment.

Irfan, on his part, was quick to duck and weave out of the bodyline attack before warding off Shabina’s attempt to get up close and personal.

“People do a lot of things for publicity,” he was overheard telling elder brother Yusuf soon after the “shocker” for the self-professed “shy” all-rounder.

When told that a couple of years ago his skipper M.S. Dhoni had been given a “jadoo ki jhappi” by a die-hard fan in front of Eden Gardens, Irfan laughed and wondered whether all this was “stage-managed”.

Cucumber cool Shabina insisted that her “jhapatne ki koshish (attempted lunge)” was a spontaneous act.

“I am a huge fan of Irfan and I participated in the contest just to meet him,” said one of the three winners of a lucky draw held by a cellular service provider, of which the Brothers Pathan are brand ambassadors.

Shabina in a white salwar kurta stood demurely at Irfan’s right shoulder for a while, enjoying her “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

She suddenly turned towards her dream man — dressed in white shirt and blue denims — and “tried to kiss him but failed to reach him”.

So, what about the curly-haired cricketer drives her to desperation? “Oh! He is very handsome. He is a good cricketer, a good bowler and a good all-rounder,” gushed Shabina, who works with an insurance company.

If only she was a Team India selector.