Irfan Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket

[MenInG]

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Irfan, 35, has played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for India in an international career that spanned nearly nine years beginning 2003. Known for his ability to swing the ball sharply, Irfan picked 301 wickets across formats. He was a handy batsman too, making 1105 runs in Tests at an average above 31 and 1544 runs in ODIs at 23.39.

He last played for India in a T20I in October 2012.

Irfan burst into the scene in 2003 and soon had plenty of high points in his career. He dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the first over of the Karachi Test in 2006 to claim a Test hat-trick. He was the Man of the Match in the 2007 World T20 final against Pakistan for his spell of 3 for 16 which set up victory for the young Indian side.

Irfan was also the Man of the Match in India's famous win in the Perth Test against Australia in 2008 for picking up five wickets along with handy contributions with the bat.

Injuries and a loss of swing meant Irfan struggled for consistency in the latter part of his career. He was in and out of the Indian side and had to be content with moving across IPL teams. He played the last of his 103 IPL matches in 2017.

Irfan moved from his domestic side Baroda to a player-cum-mentor role in Jammu and Kashmir in early 2018. He last played a competitive match in February last year, for J&K in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/...rement-from-all-forms-of-cricket-2445623.html

 

[Shoaib88]

It's great how irfan bhai waited till 2020 to announce retirement

 

[jnaveen1980]

Now he has become a full time cricket analyst. He is quiet good as his English is quiet decent.

 

[andy0204]

Now he has become a full time cricket analyst. He is quiet good as his English is quiet decent.

Better than hacks like sanju manju,Murali kartik.

 

[cricket.mad]

Better than hacks like sanju manju,Murali kartik.

Yes...

 

[jnaveen1980]

Better than hacks like sanju manju,Murali kartik.

Manju is there for comic relief

 

[Slog]

Now he has become a full time cricket analyst. He is quiet good as his English is quiet decent.

Man I remember when he came to Pakistan I. 2004 he could barely string 3-4 words together.

It was same with Sehwag.

Quite appreciate and admire the effort indian cricketers put to groom themselves.

 

[Hitman]

Man I remember when he came to Pakistan I. 2004 he could barely string 3-4 words together.

It was same with Sehwag.

Quite appreciate and admire the effort indian cricketers put to groom themselves.

Both Sehwag and Harbhajan couldn't put a sentence together in English when they first came to international cricket.

 

[Sher Khan]

Both Sehwag and Harbhajan couldn't put a sentence together in English when they first came to international cricket.

Their is that famous story, Harbhajan Singh always tells. Of when he went abroad for the first time with an under 16 touring team and someone there was asking the boys of what their name is and which city they are from. But for Harbhajan they asked back to front, as in which city he is from and what his name is to which he replied Jalandhar from Harbhajan.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Pretty decent left arm spinner early in his career for india.

 

[Ab Fan]

As good as Afridi in terms of all-round ability except entertainment part where even the greatest won't match him.

 

[Hyperion66]

One of the most talented bowlers ever to have come out of India, sad how his career panned out. Used to swing prodigiously both ways and with a decent pace when he first came out. I remember him seaming it effortlessly as well on dead pitches. An out and out teamman and gave us some memorable moments. I wish him all the best.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pretty decent left arm spinner early in his career for india.

He was clocking 140k in Australia when he started out. The one that ripped Gilchrist's stump in his debut series was pretty quick. All said and done he was a match winner. Helped win world T20 final. He was the man of the match. Helped win Perth Test. He was the man of the match.

 

[jnaveen1980]

One of the most talented bowlers ever to have come out of India, sad how his career panned out. Used to swing prodigiously both ways and with a decent pace when he first came out. I remember him seaming it effortlessly as well on dead pitches. An out and out teamman and gave us some memorable moments. I wish him all the best.

He was one of the closest to be a specialist batsman. As a 19 year old kept Australian bowling for 4 hours at the bay.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Man I remember when he came to Pakistan I. 2004 he could barely string 3-4 words together.

It was same with Sehwag.

Quite appreciate and admire the effort indian cricketers put to groom themselves.

Sehwag is still not very fluent. Pathan was what ? 21 year old then?

 

[jnaveen1980]

Shikar Dhawan still can't speak proper English despite having an Australian wife lol Rohit sharma teased him in an interview

 

[Hyperion66]

Shikar Dhawan still can't speak proper English despite having an Australian wife lol Rohit sharma teased him in an interview

He is a jatta, not speaking English is part of his swag lol.

 

[The Viper]

T20 World Cup winner Irfan Pathan announces retirement

Spoiler

Irfan Pathan, the former India all-rounder, has announced his retirement from all forms of international and domestic cricket.

Pathan, 35, who last turned out for India in 2012, finishes with 2,821 runs and 301 wickets from 173 internationals across formats. Having played his last first-class game a year ago in the Ranji Trophy, he has a total of 4,559 first-class runs to go with 384 wickets.

"It has been a great journey," he said on Star Sports, where he is a commentator. "I played cricket with all my heart and soul. I am really proud of it and when I look back, I feel happy with my achievements. It’s been a great career."

The Baroda-born left-arm pacer came onto the scene at a time when India were searching for a pace-bowling all-rounder who could win them matches, and quickly was left carrying expectations to be the next Kapil Dev. A successful debut tour of Australia in 2003-04, where his reverse swing saw the backs of Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh, followed by a series in Pakistan where he finished with 12 wickets from three Tests, only added to the excitement around him.

Two years later, he was back in Pakistan to become only the second Indian to take a Test hat-trick while reducing them to 0/3. In 2007, he was part of the young Indian side competing in the maiden T20 World Cup, and was Player of the Match in the final against Pakistan for his 3/16 as MS Dhoni's men lifted the trophy.

His good form against India's arch rivals continued later that year when, playing his first Test in 18 months, he made his maiden Test century in Bengaluru. The following month in 2008, he starred with bat and ball in Perth, making a valuable 46 from No.3 in the second innings, while claiming five wickets in the match, to be Player of the Match in a famous win for India.

However, injuries plagued his career, and his form and pace often suffered. While he was a part of the victorious Champions Trophy-winning side in 2013, he played his last match in India colours during the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

In recent years, he has been involved in commentary and while he was still playing on the domestic circuit, took on a role with a focus on mentoring younger players.

"In domestic cricket, too, I have been part of Jammu and Kashmir cricket and after last season, I thought what’s the motivation to play any more?" Pathan said. "I will keep contributing to Indian cricket, but it is always better if someone else takes my place in domestic cricket. There are lot of other things in store for me and I will keep focusing on them."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1561199

 

[Saj]

Always rated him when he was at his peak.

Swung the ball both ways at his best.

Underachieved though when you look at his career overall.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Greg Chappell was partly responsible to running down his career. He had this concept of extracting the best out of every single player and started promoting him as a batsman. Did the same with Yuvi and other players. Irfan lost his way. Also his bowling action started changing. Not enough use of front arm. No real pivot. He didn't get the optimum release of the ball. Definitely under-achieved.

 

[Itachi]

He had lots of promise. The system back then ruined him. If he were debut now, story could have been written in very different way.

 

[Amjid Javed]

One of the most talented bowlers ever to have come out of India, sad how his career panned out. Used to swing prodigiously both ways and with a decent pace when he first came out. I remember him seaming it effortlessly as well on dead pitches. An out and out teamman and gave us some memorable moments. I wish him all the best.

Lost his pace and ability to swing the ball way to quickly, should have had a longer career then he did at international level.

 

[The_Odd_One]

The obsession with turning him into an all-rounder ruined him.

It was ridiculous when he was batting at #3 when India already played 7 batsmen in their team.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">From swinging the Cricket ball, to swinging the bat for those big hits, you've done India proud so many times. It was a pleasure playing with you. <br>Enjoy your 2nd innings just like you played your 1st. <a href="https://t.co/7RZkaUJ4Tf">pic.twitter.com/7RZkaUJ4Tf</a></p>— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/1213496629573115904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[ChennaiFan]

Better than hacks like sanju manju,Murali kartik.

Murali Karthik is pretty good commentator. He does analyze the match situation well; explains what the bowler should be doing. Sanjay Manjrekar is just Mumbai promoter. Irfan has started well. Hope he has a great TV career.

 

[Savak]

Given the potential he showed for India from 2004-05, this guy should have achieved a lot more than he actually did in the end.

Cannot disagree Greg Chappell destroyed whatever natural ability he once possessed

 

[Saj]

Remember him having a few battles with Shahid Afridi with a few verbals exchanged between the 2 of them on more than one occasion.

To be fair to him, he gave as good as he got with Lala, and never backed down or felt intimidated.

 

[BaankeJi]

He used to be in top 2 ODI bowlers around 2003-04. Great potential - underachieved a lot.

 

[pillionrider]

If he had got involved in some spot fixing after his explosive beginning, many would have been lamenting how he was better than Wasim Akram, but alas...

Amazing player that just couldn't last the rigors of international cricket. I used to blame Greg Chappell at one point, but now I feel some talents just don't have the attributes needed for a long sterling career. He couldn't even pitch a comeback through the IPL despite the whole country being in love with him.

Remember him having a few battles with Shahid Afridi with a few verbals exchanged between the 2 of them on more than one occasion.

To be fair to him, he gave as good as he got with Lala, and never backed down or felt intimidated.

One of the things was Afridi calling him a fake pathan

 

[JattMaula]

So much unfulfilled potential. Could have been a great bowler.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThankYouIrfanPathan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThankYouIrfanPathan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IrfanPathan</a> <a href="https://t.co/VRDNSEXpau">pic.twitter.com/VRDNSEXpau</a></p>— Yusuf Pathan (@iamyusufpathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamyusufpathan/status/1213502935516073984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Ryw]

I Never Lost My Swing, Blaming Greg Chappell Just a Cover-Up: Irfan Pathan
After the 2008 IPL, questions were raised over Irfan Pathan's willingness to play all three formats.

Irfan Pathan, the India allrounder, who announced his international retirement on January 4, said he never lost his swing, contradicting the general perception at that time. The 35-year-old Pathan said that blaming the then coach Greg Chappell for his downfall was a cover-up.

"All these discussions, people talking about Greg Chappell they are just covering up. (The discussion that) Irfan was not interested, it was coming from somewhere. All the aura they made that Irfan lost his swing, people need to understand, that you are not going to get the same kind of swing that you get in 10 overs. I was still getting the swing," Pathan, who made his final appearance in 2012, told PTI in an interview on Sunday.
"People talk about my performance, but my job was different. I was given job to contain because I was bowling first change. I had been told this is your job. I remember getting dropped after winning the game in Sri Lanka in 2008, who gets dropped after winning the game for the country without any reason?" he questioned.

Pathan featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).
After the 2008 IPL, questions were raised over Pathan's willingness to play all three formats.

Pathan, however, asserted that it was never the case. "Yes, I always wanted to play all three formats. In 2009-2010, I had a back injury, and I was struggling to go to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, in Bangalore to check my back. I used to go through the scan, which is not good for your body, but I used to go through that and have different kinds of scans to actually know what is exactly happening with my back.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have those kind of machines at that time which (would) make clear that why I am getting back pain. It eventually turned out to be five fractures, disc prolapse and a crack. I was struggling for two years with back injury and that back injury kept going (getting) worse, but I didn't stop playing Ranji trophy."
Source: https://www.india.com/sports/i-neve...pathan-3899761/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Abdullah719]

Retaliated Sangakkara's Personal Sledge By Making Nasty Comments About His Wife: Irfan Pathan

Spoiler

Former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan recently recalled an ugly incident between him and Sri Lanka wicketkeeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara that took place during a Test match at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in 2005.

In the second Test of the three match series which India won by 188 runs, Irfan scored 93 in the second innings and it was during that knock when the incident took place. While facing Muttiah Muralitharan, Sangakkara sledged Pathan by bringing up his family, and in return, Irfan retaliated, making a comment about his wife, Yehali Sangakkara.

It was the same Test during which Sachin Tendulkar scored his 35th Test ton and surpassed Sunil Gavaskar as the highest Test century-maker in the world.

“I remember one of the stories with (Kumar) Sangakkara. We were playing in Delhi. I scored about 93 in the 2nd innings when (Virender) Sehwag got injured. I was sent up the order. At that time, Sangakkara knew the match was going away from them. (Muttiah) Muralitharan was bowling really well. He was just trying to tell me something very nasty. He said something personal, I said something personal to him. I said something about his wife, he said something about my father and my mother. At that time, we were not happy with each other,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

Irfan and Sangakkara later went on to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and where the two decided to let bygones be bygones.

“After some time, we were playing in the same team for Kings XI Punjab. I remember, for a month, as soon as his wife used to come on the right, I used to go left. One day, Sangakkara came and said… ‘you remember this guy, he is the guy who said something about you’. I said sorry. And then Sangakkara explained, I said something first and then only he said something about you. It ended that way. There is no hard feeling and then we became friends,” Pathan revealed.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...y-comments-about-his-wife-irfan-pathan-911739

 

[Hitman]

Speaks a lot about Sangakkara when you bring in a man's family without any provocation.

 

[sshakir411]

Poor man’s Wasim

 

[sshakir411]

Speaks a lot about Sangakkara when you bring in a man's family without any provocation.

You don’t know who said what first. Stop making assumptions just because an Indian cricketer is telling the story first.

 

[ahmedzee]

He had a lot of promise! I was a big fan of him with the new ball. He can swing miles. I think his downfall came when he remodeled his action, and lost most of his swing. He is someone who would've easily achieved 300+ wickets in ODIs and 300+ in tests.

 

[Mobashir]

Never became the player he promised at the start of his career.

Rated him highly in the start of his career, a true match winner.

Will never forget that hattrick!

 

[Ab Fan]

Irfan Pathan was our biggest loss in terms of not being able to produce the performance considering the talent this guy possessed.

 

[Hitman]

You don’t know who said what first. Stop making assumptions just because an Indian cricketer is telling the story first.

Of course I'm going to assume what Irfan Pathan said is true. Much like how you Pakistanis would assume anything said by any dignified Pakistani cricket to be true. And Sangakkara is known to stir things in the middle during his career. So what Irfan said is perfectly believable.

 

[Hyperion66]

Of course I'm going to assume what Irfan Pathan said is true. Much like how you Pakistanis would assume anything said by any dignified Pakistani cricket to be true. And Sangakkara is known to stir things in the middle during his career. So what Irfan said is perfectly believable.

Didn't Sanga told the bowler to bowl a wide ball to prevent Sehwag from scoring a double hundred or something like that? I might be wrong though, I don't exactly remember what really happened.

 

[Mobashir]

Didn't Sanga told the bowler to bowl a wide ball to prevent Sehwag from scoring a double hundred or something like that? I might be wrong though, I don't exactly remember what really happened.

Sehwag was on 99 in an ODI when Suraj Randiv bowled that no ball.

 

[andy0204]

Didn't Sanga told the bowler to bowl a wide ball to prevent Sehwag from scoring a double hundred or something like that? I might be wrong though, I don't exactly remember what really happened.

Some were telling it was Dilshan.

 

[Hyperion66]

Some were telling it was Dilshan.

Okay, probably I shouldn't have posted that without knowing much about the incident. So that actually happened but Sanga wasn't probably involved, correct?

 

[Hyperion66]

Sehwag was on 99 in an ODI when Suraj Randiv bowled that no ball.

Appreciate the information man. I guess my bad then as it was never clear who instructed the bowler to do so.

 

[MenInG]

Interesting as above might be - please stick to topic - thanks

 

[Abdullah719]

Irfan Pathan was courageous, selfless, says Greg Chappell

MUMBAI: Soon after he announced his retirement, former India allrounder Irfan Pathan clarified one popular perception: He said that blaming then India coach, Australian legend Greg Chappell for his downfall was a “cover-up.”

Pathan felt that the only time he got to bat up high in the order and prove his batting skills was when Rahul Dravid was the captain. The move to use the left-hander’s batting skils more was a brainchild of Chappell, who wanted the left-arm seamer to turn into a genuine all-rounder by giving him more responsibility.

The 71-year-old is full of praise for Pathan too. “Irfan was happy to play whatever role the team required. He was both courageous and selfless,” Chappell told TOI from Brisbane on Monday. “Irfan proved that he was a very capable all-rounder. Apart from what he did in limited overs cricket, he very nearly scored a Test century (93 vs Sri Lanka at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi). His swing bowling was very good, with the highlight for me being his hat trick in the first over of a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi,” added the former Australian captain.

Chappell was India’s coach during a tumultuous two-year period from 2005 till the 2007 World Cup. Till recently, Chappell was a part of Australia’s National Selection Panel (NSP), apart from being a national team talent manager, before he ‘retired’ from cricket completely.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...s-says-greg-chappell/articleshow/73131799.cms

 

[Dulex9]

Good find from India. Played a handful of one day and tests.

Expected him to play more. I remember the 2004 champions thropy match vs PAK where his 3 early wickets gave India a chance.

 

[MenInG]

MUMBAI: Soon after he announced his retirement, former India allrounder Irfan Pathan clarified one popular perception: He said that blaming then India coach, Australian legend Greg Chappell for his downfall was a “cover-up.”

Pathan felt that the only time he got to bat up high in the order and prove his batting skills was when Rahul Dravid was the captain. The move to use the left-hander’s batting skils more was a brainchild of Chappell, who wanted the left-arm seamer to turn into a genuine all-rounder by giving him more responsibility.

The 71-year-old is full of praise for Pathan too. “Irfan was happy to play whatever role the team required. He was both courageous and selfless,” Chappell told TOI from Brisbane on Monday. “Irfan proved that he was a very capable all-rounder. Apart from what he did in limited overs cricket, he very nearly scored a Test century (93 vs Sri Lanka at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi). His swing bowling was very good, with the highlight for me being his hat trick in the first over of a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi,” added the former Australian captain.

Chappell was India’s coach during a tumultuous two-year period from 2005 till the 2007 World Cup. Till recently, Chappell was a part of Australia’s National Selection Panel (NSP), apart from being a national team talent manager, before he ‘retired’ from cricket completely.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...eg-chappell/articleshow/73131799.cms?from=mdr

 

[omairsiddiqui]

This guy was a decent cricketer. The level of attention he's getting on his retirement announcement is ridiculous though. All these farewell notes and remarks make him look way better than he was. Oh to be an Indian cricketer these days!

This is all about him marketing himself for a coaching/media career. He knew he was done four years ago. Why didn't he retire then?

 

[MenInG]

Cricketers coming out of retirement to again play international cricket is not uncommon. Greats like Imran Khan, Javed Minadad, Kevin Pietersen and Carl Hooper have done it but in India it’s a rare thing. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday said he is willing to embark on that rare journey if proper communication is made from the authorities.

Irfan who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in January this year, drawing curtains on a 16-year-long career, said he is ready to give is heart and soul if the selectors give him a year to prepare with the assurance of being considered for selection in the Indian side.

“Communication is very important. If they come and tell me ‘Irfan you have retired but you prepare for one year and you will be available for India selection’ then I will leave everything, give my heart and soul and will only do hardwork. But who will do the communication?” said Irfan Pathan in an Instagram live session with former teammate and India batsman Suresh Raina.

“Tell me if they say ‘Suresh Raina you have six months and there is a World Cup, we will consider you provided you perform well’ so won’t you give your all?” Irfan asked, to which Raina replied: “Yes, absolutely.”

Irfan, who made his debut for India at the age of 19 in the Adelaide Test in Australia in 2003, was renowned for his in-swing to the right-hander. His Test career however ended way back in 2008. In the 29 Tests he played, Irfan picked up 100 wickets at an average of 32. He was celebrated for his hat-trick in Pakistan in 2006.

Irfan also scored 1105 runs in 29 Tests at an average of 31.57 with one century to his name.

His limited overs record was a lot better. In 120 ODIs, he picked up 173 wickets and scored 1544 runs. In 24 T20Is he picked up 28 wickets.

He was the man of the match in the 2007 T20 World Cup final which India won by defeating Pakistan.

The all-rounder, last played for India in 2012 but was playing his trade in domestic cricket for Jammu and Kashmir even till last year.

Echoing Irfan’s views, Raina said, they are fighters and players like them should be respected.

“We are still young and fit but most importantly we have that passion. We are fighters, if we get a chance then we will surely perform. I’ve seen a lot of players trying different things, even changing associations but they are not getting the supporting.

Raina cited examples of Sachin Tendulkar, Ashish Nehra who played for a long time and hailed former India World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni for his fitness.

“A sportspersons career is generally finished by 36 or 38. If he’s someone like MS Dhoni, who has a solid body, Sachin paaji too played till 40, Ashish Nehra played for a long long time and there are lot of others who performed but somehow didn’t fit in the team. I believe all these players should be respected, that’s it,” Raina said.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ion-is-made/story-vJbaOkNukOfUwGElm2MNDP.html

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I am sure Irfan is smarter than this. Why will selectors ask him to get ready for selection? He should have given his heart and soul in the domestic cricket when he was an active cricketer. I know he was dropped unfairly but who wasn't in their respective careers?

He should look at his age which is 35, speed which won't be more than 128kph, which community he represents and then think again.

 

[Savak]

India had better options than Irfan Pathan who was on the downslide

 

[Rajdeep]

Greg Chappel destroyed his career. Irfan was a brilliant bowler at the start and was swinging the ball at pace. Then Chappel wanted to make him an all rounder, asked him to reduce pace to extend career and focus more on batting. That move backfired and Irfan Pathan was never the same bowler again.

 

[Ab Fan]

Irfan still ended up with good numbers. 173 wickets in 120 ODIs at avg of 29, that is not a bad feat by any standards.

 

[MenInG]

Irfan Pathan swinging his way to become the second Indian to claim a Test hat-trick and the first to do it outside home against Pakistan in Karachi is one of the most cherished memories of Indian cricket fans. Pathan, who toured Pakistan for the first time with the senior Indian side under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy in 2004, has delivered many memorable performances against the arch-rivals. He was also the Player of the Match in 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan in Johannesburg too. The former India all-rounder, therefore, surprised everyone when he revealed he did not want to tour Pakistan when the opportunity came knocking on his door for the first time.

Irfan who made his debut for India in Australia at the age of 19, made his name as a swing bowler when he picked up 9 wickets in an U19 match against Bangladesh in 2003 in Lahore. But the left-armer revealed that he had no intentions of going for that tour as he wanted to play a Ranji Trophy match against Baroda for Mumbai.

“I didn’t want to come on that Pakistan tour. We had a match against Mumbai in Ranji Trophy. I told Shetty sir that it’s a match against Mumbai, I’m in good form. So if I perform against them then my name will definitely start doing the rounds. But he said ‘no India are touring Pakistan for the first time in 14 years. You’ve played U19 before so you have to go.’ I went there disappointed to be honest but who knew what was in store for me,” Pathan told Raina in an Instagram live session.

“I remember the Lahore match when you took 9 wickets with two hat tricks and everybody started talking about you. But you by God’s grace after you played that match in Pakistan you were selected for the Australia tour,” said Raina.

Pathan’s immediate success in that tour fast-tracked him into the Indian Test side for the Australia tour and the Baroda boy made an impact straightaway by getting the big wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden.

“I remember the reverse swinging Yorker to dismiss Gilly, you also got Haydos out,” added Raina.

The due also discussed their first U19 tour to England under Gnaneswara Rao’s captaincy.

“I was telling the viewers that you and I debuted together for India U19. The England tour when Venugopal Rao’s brother Gnaneswara Rao was the captain.

“That your was a memorable one. It was my first international flight. We had some terrific players in Ambati Rayudu, Chandrasekhar Atnam, you, the ‘keeper from Bengal Paul, they were all very talented. It was 2 and a half month tour and full of fun.” Said Raina.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ed-his-life/story-TqNu632zSQWhvHgFFUy3UL.html

 

[sshakir411]

Touted to be the next Akram at one stage then turned batting all rounder. India surely knows how to turn decent players in to nobodies

 

[MenInG]

Irfan Pathan’s Test hat-trick against Pakistan is right up there in terms of cricketing folklore. Even though it couldn’t prevent India from a defeat, the fact that Pathan became only the second Indian bowler to claim a Test hat-trick remains a memorable feat. What made the accomplishment even sweeter was the batsmen it involved. Bowling the first over of the match, in three deliveries, Pathan rocked Pakistan’s top order sending back Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.

After the first two Tests had ended in draws, it was down to the decider in Karachi, and on a green-top pitch, India sent Pakistan in. With Pathan licking his chops, he couldn’t have asked for a better start as he had Pakistan reeling at 0/3 at the end of the first over.

“That particular morning, I remember, I wanted to swing the ball, I wanted to hit the batsmen on their pads. That’s the aim I had. I never thought that I’ll get a hat-trick in the first over, but I wanted to get early breakthroughs for my team, especially on that morning,” Pathan recalled the incident to Times of India.

“When I bowled the first ball, it was from the leg-stump. Salman Butt being a left-hander, I wanted to make sure that he plays the first ball, but it didn’t swing as much as I would have liked. The second ball I bowled on the off-stump, it went away. He left the ball, the third as well. The fourth ball was right on the money, the way you want as a (swing) bowler - the batsman defends the ball, it edges the bat and goes to the slip. It exactly happened the way I wanted.”

With Younis as the new batsman walking out, Pathan and India were aware of the threat he posed given his stellar Test record against India. India put an attacking field against Younis and despite an element of risk involved, Pathan pointed out he wanted to take it because the reward attached to it was high.

“The ball was swinging, but before Younis, it was a left-handed batsman and now right-handed. So for me to adjust the line straight away, that was the thing in my mind. But most importantly, I wanted to make sure that I bowled a length that hit him below the knee-roll,” Pathan said.

“As soon as the ball went from my hand, I knew it was that perfect length I wanted. When I turned around (to appeal for LBW), I knew that (umpire) Simon Taufel was going to raise his finger because the ball had hit Younis below the knee-roll, and was hitting the middle stump.”

The third dismissal was the best of the lot, also against a player considered one of Pakistan’s most technically-sound batsmen of all time, Yousuf. Pathan was no stranger to taking hat-tricks; he had taken three wickets in three balls in junior cricket, for India under-15, in the plate championship in England for India Under-19. In international cricket, twice he’d come to grabbing a hat-trick but couldn’t. All that however, changed the next ball.

“I left everything on the Almighty and decided that I’m just going to ball my best ball. I knew that this was Mohammad Yousuf, who had gotten out to me many times. I knew that he was also waiting for my in-swinger. But even if it’s a good ball, even if he was waiting for the same delivery, it will hit his pad. I wanted to do that,” Pathan added.

“The kind of swing I got on that ball doesn’t happen (easily). People take time to do that. I delivered the ball, I wanted to hit Mohammad Yousuf’s pads and luckily the ball swung so much. Even after pitching, it had movement and it went between his bat and pad to hit the stumps. At that time obviously you don’t think about those things, but when I look back, obviously it feels really great and satisfied that people still talk about this hat-trick.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...st-pakistan/story-GrrZCTKf58Z1FCHLlk3CxL.html

 

[MenInG]

Irfan Pathan feels he had the potential to become India’s best all-rounder of all time, had a few things panned out differently in his career. Pathan burst on to the scene as a 19-year-old quick who would bamboozle opponents with his swing, before he later began focussing on his batting.

But injuries had a role to play in Pathan being in and out of the team. At an age when bowlers usually peak, Pathan played his last match for India, but the 35-year-old has few regrets looking back upon what could have been an even more promising India career.

“In terms of achievement, there could have been a lot more. I really believe that in One-Day Internationals I could have been the best all-rounder that India ever produced, I could have been. That didn’t happen because I didn’t play as much cricket as I could have because my last game for India was at the age of 27,” Pathan told Rediff.com.

“I think if you play till 35, things would have been better, but that’s gone, it’s done and dusted. Whatever matches I played, I played as a match-winner, I played as a guy who made the difference to the team. Even if I took one wicket - the first wicket for the match - that made a big impact on the team. Whatever innings I played with the bat, I played to make a difference.”

Pathan had a rampant start to his career, becoming the fastest Indian bowler to take 100 ODI wickets (in 59 matches). The record stood for 13 years before Mohammed Shami broke it. But as things progressed, Pathan’s role changed. From a new-ball bowler, he went on to become the first or second change. From 100 wickets in 59 games, Pathan’s next 73 would require another 61 matches.

Later on, Pathan began focussing on his batting and even though the allrounder scored a maiden Test century, people felt it affected his batting. As far as the players himself is concerned, he would mind whatever role he served in the team, but feels the team and players could have backed the all-rounder further instead of side-lining him.

“If you see the first 59 ODI matches that I played, I got to bowl with the new ball. And when you are the new ball bowler, you get the opportunity to bowl with the new ball as well as the old ball. Your aim, your mindset, your body language and your responsibility is to take wickets. But when you are bowling first change, your role changes as well, your role becomes defensive,” Irfan said.

“When you are bowling first change, when you are a defensive bowler according to your captain and coach, you have to play the role of containing the runs. You have to make sure that you don’t give away too many runs. So, if your role becomes different, then your numbers also become different as well.

“I actually feel that people from the team should have spoken about it. They should have said that, ‘Yes Irfan used to take wickets, but now we have given him a different role. We have given him the role of first change bowler and someone who can bat at No 7 or No 8, which is very much required in One-Day cricket right now.’

Pathan repeatedly battled injuries and match form which led to his ouster from the Indian team, but whenever he would open the bowling for India, the bowler would be at his peak. The last match he played for India, Pathan picked up a five-wicket haul – against Sri Lanka in August 2012, while operating with the new ball.

How many fast bowlers can you think of to have never played a match again after grabbing a five-for?

“If you look at the numbers, it suddenly started changing when I started bowling with the new ball again in 2012,” Pathan said. “When I came back into the Indian team, I took five wickets as well in my last match. I am not saying that I could only bowl with the new ball. No, I was ready to bowl with the old ball, I was ready to bowl with the new ball as well. But in a team game, when you have a different role, your numbers reflect differently.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ndia-career/story-MyfQ76meSZ6ZgP3CzflFgL.html

 

[MenInG]

When talking about the game between India and Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, the mind directly goes to the nail-biting final in which MS Dhoni-led India picked the win by 5 runs. But the two teams had also competed against each other in a group stage match that had gone to a bowl-out. Before the arrival of Super Over, a bowl-out was the method to decide a match that ended in a tie.

In the group stage match, India scored 141/9 with the help of Robin Uthappa’s fifty. Pakistan got off to a poor start in the chase, losing quick wickets, but eventually managed to push the game to a tie.

In the bowl-out that ensued, all three Indian players - Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Robin Uthappa managed to hit the stumps. But the three Pakistan players - Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, and Shahid Afridi missed the stumps, and India won the game.

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan recalled the thrilling encounter and said that the Pakistan team was not prepared for a bowl out.

“Pakistan’s captain accepted it in one of the press conferences that they didn’t know about the bowl-out,” Pathan said in Star Sports’ special episode of Cricket Connected chat show named ‘Watch Along of the 2007 ICC World T20 between India and Pakistan’.

“When the time for bowl-out arrived, they were not sure if they should be taking full run-ups or a half run-ups. On the other hand, we came in prepared for the bow-out and the result was quite evident,” Pathan further said.

“There was no competition between the two teams. When the regulation match was going on, there was a fierce competition between both the teams, and it was a close affair. But during the bowl-out, there was no competition,” he signed off.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...d-cup-match/story-9ymK7sg9K30EqMt4pHU2ZN.html

 

[MenInG]

Sep 24: On the 13th anniversary of India's World T20 triumph on Thursday, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that the Man-of-the-Match award he won in the final would always remain closest to his heart, and emphasised that it was special because he had won it against traditional rivals Pakistan.

Pathan also pointed out that when the Indian Premier League (IPL) was launched the next year, in 2008, memories of India's World T20 triumph were still fresh in the minds of Indian fans and they accepted the IPL immediately and made it a resounding success with their patronage.

"I am grateful to Allah that I was adjudged the Man of the Match. And my wickets included that of Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and Yasir Arafat. But the most precious wicket for me was of Shahid Afridi. He has at times played well against India. Whenever I played against him I often dismissed him. I have dismissed him 11 times in India-Pakistan encounters and that was amongst those 11 occasions," Pathan told IANS in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

"Afridi was a batsman who could have changed the final on its head. He was the kind of player who would either return to the dressing room early or if he settled down he would win the match. I planned to get him out in the final. I bowled a bouncer and then slipped in a slower one, knowing that he would go after me, and Sreesanth taking his catch was also important. His was a crucial wicket," explained the 35-year-old Baroda-based former cricketer.

Blessed with natural swing, Pathan bagged three wickets for just 16 runs in the allotted four overs in the final. His wickets came at crucial junctures that gave India the upper hand -- and a heart-stopping five-run win at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.

"I have won many Man-of-the-Match awards -- in junior cricket, in IPL, and in international cricket -- but this one in the final is the closest to my heart. One reason is that it came in the final against Pakistan, whom we beat twice in the World T20, and also because India won in the first ever T20 World Cup," he reasoned.

"Moreover, I won it in the final where I made a contribution to my team's cause. I consider myself very fortunate. I bowled well in the entire tournament. Against South Africa, I conceded only 16 runs in four overs, though I didn't get a wicket. People will, obviously, not remember that performance because I hadn't taken a wicket and hadn't won the Man-of-the-Match award. So, that good performance got buried," he said with a tinge of disappointment.

Pathan further said: "But in the final, by the grace of Allah, I won the award and the world will remember my performance in the final for many years. Whenever people will discuss the T20 World Cup, they will say that India had won and Irfan Pathan the Man of the Match."

India reaching the final was completely unexpected as the players hardly had any experience of playing in the shortest format of the game. India had actually played a solitary T20 International, against South Africa in 2006, before going into the World T20 in 2007. They appointed a new captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, after seniors Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly opted out of the tournament to give opportunities to youngsters.

Pathan said that the World T20 triumph facilitated the entry of IPL on the cricket firmament.

"What happened a year after the T20 World Cup triumph -- the advent of the IPL -- changed the entire face of Indian cricket and the eyes of the whole world were on India. IPL would have been launched anyway, maybe after a while and what would have happened then is a matter of conjecture. But the fact is that we won the World Cup in 2007 and the IPL was launched the very next year. The memories of the 2007 World Cup victory were still fresh in the minds of people when the IPL was launched," the Pathan said.

"People hadn't given us a chance to win the World Cup. We were a young team and we all contributed to the team's cause, be it Gautam Gambhir [he scored 75 in final], Yuvraj Singh, or Yogender Sharma, and their performances were all praiseworthy," pointed out Pathan, who played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20 Internationals between 2003 and 2012.

A younger brother of Yusuf, who was also part of the Indian team for the World T20, Pathan stressed that it was a young team and there was a lot of camaraderie within the group.

"We enjoyed each other's success. We won the competition by beating big teams -- we beat 50-over world champions Australia in the semi-finals and beat South Africa in South Africa. So, fans wouldn't have had a bigger cricket memory than that triumph when the IPL was launched. No doubt that the 1983 World Cup triumph gave a big boost to Indian cricket fans. And after many years of that triumph came the World T20 victory and it changed the very face of Indian cricket in a very positive manner," he said.

https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=754590

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Age is just a number for some and for others a reason to be dropped...</p>— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1312284224318140418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Gabbar Singh]

The retirement lasted long.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IrfanPathan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IrfanPathan</a> will be part of Kandy Tuskers in the 2020 season of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LankaPremierLeague?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LankaPremierLeague</a>. The team has <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChrisGayle?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChrisGayle</a> Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis among others<a href="https://t.co/cmtkViwHfJ">https://t.co/cmtkViwHfJ</a></p>— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/CricketNDTV/status/1322821560764297217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Remember him having a few battles with Shahid Afridi with a few verbals exchanged between the 2 of them on more than one occasion.

To be fair to him, he gave as good as he got with Lala, and never backed down or felt intimidated.

He also went after Shoaib Akhter in one of Indian Talk Shows, in a way that wasn’t really decent.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/4E7agmuQl1">pic.twitter.com/4E7agmuQl1</a></p>— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/IrfanPathan/status/1376575500680798209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[rhony]

Wish him well. Would have succeeded a lot more if he was playing now. The first thing they did was to hype him as the next Akram. Then they asked him to focus on swing and forget about pace. Then they wanted to make him an AR. They they let him go after he lost his swing. Poor fitness and poor management and a good player was lost.

 

[BreadPakoda]

So Yusuf, Badri, Sachin, and Irfan got Covid. Not difficult to connect the dots.

 

[JattMaula]

Wish him well. Would have succeeded a lot more if he was playing now. The first thing they did was to hype him as the next Akram. Then they asked him to focus on swing and forget about pace. Then they wanted to make him an AR. They they let him go after he lost his swing. Poor fitness and poor management and a good player was lost.

He would have succeeded more if he was born a decade late. We used to run all our pacers to ground with mismanagement. And he was especially mismanaged.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

Well, he was good while he lasted. but towards the end he had become a 120 kmph trundler militarymedium to whome the keeper stood up. Its not that he was zinging missilies. And all the talk about him loosing pace in tryin gto become an allrounder is pure desert camel. Nothing stopped him from bowling quick. There is a lot of bahane baazi in his interviews, others have grabbed their chances and made the most of the talents they had. Greg chapell was around in 2005 to 2007 WC. If he was that bad an influence to Irfan to make him loose his place, why didn't he work hard , get fitter, stronger and bowl with more pace after Greg left?
In his time the same bunch of pacers were also thriving, some even went to play for longer periods like Nehra or ishant...but he bowled halwa every time and was hit out of the park in most games by all comers.
All in all, he was good while he lasted, and in batting he could be a fantastic lower order biffer.
When the ball was not swinging, his bowling was the easiest halwa to hit , check Stephen fleming hitting 5 boundaries in the zim series in 2005.
and stop the false narrative and sympathies, he also has himself to blame for a lot of his downfall.
Good luck to him

 

[Slog]

Wish him well. Would have succeeded a lot more if he was playing now. The first thing they did was to hype him as the next Akram. Then they asked him to focus on swing and forget about pace. Then they wanted to make him an AR. They they let him go after he lost his swing. Poor fitness and poor management and a good player was lost.

Lol i don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me but I remember at one point he was batting in the top order! Like an opener or #3 )

 

[Slog]

In the mid to 2000s to early 2010s; a lot Indian pacers had this trend of starting at 138-145kph and within 4 series hovering around 125-128kph

 

[rhony]

Lol i don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me but I remember at one point he was batting in the top order! Like an opener or #3 )

Yeah when Chappell was the coach.