What went wrong with Irfan Pathan?

[Dr_Bassim]

I have seen Irfan Pathan being a great bowler when he burst into the international scene...

There was this test in Karachi , when he was seaming and took a hatrick versus Pakistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtZH-Cu7AwU&hd=1


Yesterday, and so many other days , he was a shadow of a bowler that used to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q_eHbbXwJA

What has gone wrong with Irfan Pathan ? Or did he just suck to begin with ...

Comments?

 

[iZaman]

He went to the Indian National Academy.

 

[Disco_Lemonade]

his one year bowling life warranty expired. as it happens in indian cricket, he was sent back to be refurbished and came with an addon of allrounder.

 

[Foozee]

the same which happens to every other Indian fast bowler... line and length main ghumm..and goneee...

 

[Itachi]

Greg chappel totally ruined him. He tried to make pathan an all rounder. Pathan wasn't an all rounder to begin with. So chappel tried to 'hack' and make him one. It backfired so much that india totally lost a decent bowler. He now isn't even a shadow of what he was. And sadly, i don't see returning of the old, aggressive pathan. Zaheer went miles ahead of him where as pathan gone backward.

 

[Itachi]

the same which happens to every other Indian fast bowler... line and length main ghumm..and goneee...

pathan's case is different.

 

[Justcrazy]

He is still okay bowler, should be bowling in middle overs. He is still a decent player for shorter formats. He should not be expected to bowl 10 overs in every game.

 

[IndianWillow]

I have seen Irfan Pathan being a great bowler when he burst into the international scene...

There was this test in Karachi , when he was seaming and took a hatrick versus Pakistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtZH-Cu7AwU&hd=1


Yesterday, and so many other days , he was a shadow of a bowler that used to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q_eHbbXwJA

What has gone wrong with Irfan Pathan ? Or did he just suck to begin with ...

Comments?

His bowling lost the sting the moment he became an allrounder and then he became an "ALL ROUNDER". ( i.e zero in everything)

 

[kerala porotta]

He looks a very good batsmen on the flipsyde much better than jadeja

 

[MR__KHAN__JI]

First change bowler.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

11 years ago today:

0.4: Pathan to Butt OUT
0.5: Pathan to Younis OUT
0.6: Pathan to Yousuf OUT


But of course Pakistan won the test by a huge margin and poor Pathan, well we all know what happened to his bowling post 2005.

 

[Justcrazy]

He could have played as batting all rounder .

 

[Gabbar Singh]

.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YOJ25hk9lOM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ask_analyse_act]

IPL performance can get him back...

 

[Pollack]

He becoming or coerced to be an all rounder would surely be not the reason. There must be something technically that went wrong how and why of which we don't know .

 

[msb314]

11 years ago today:

0.4: Pathan to Butt OUT
0.5: Pathan to Younis OUT
0.6: Pathan to Yousuf OUT


But of course Pakistan won the test by a huge margin and poor Pathan, well we all know what happened to his bowling post 2005.

Damn I remember that match so well.

first ball of his hatrick - Salman Butt edged to Dravid at first slip. 2nd ball to YK who was tapped plumb LBW and then the 3rd ball to Moyo was an inswinger and he tried to play straight across the line but missed and was bowled.

Great memories!

 

[msb314]

IPL performance can get him back...

On the contrary it will not - someone pointed out (cannot remember who it was) but IPL actually contributed to his downfall. He was essentially making easy money with Kings XI and later with KKR and simply lost the passion and desire to play for the Indian national team.

Right? [MENTION=134809]sensible-indian-fan[/MENTION] [MENTION=134981]Bhaag Viru Bhaag[/MENTION] [MENTION=139847]Ankit007[/MENTION]

 

[msb314]

He could have played as batting all rounder .

That is exactly why his bowling deteriorated so badly.

Greg Chappell tried to tinker with him too much and in the process - he lost focus on his bowling in an effort to become a better batsman.

Should have stayed at no. 8 and continued to be a bowling all-rounder as he already was.

 

[Justcrazy]

That is exactly why his bowling deteriorated so badly.

Greg Chappell tried to tinker with him too much and in the process - he lost focus on his bowling in an effort to become a better batsman.

Should have stayed at no. 8 and continued to be a bowling all-rounder as he already was.

That would have been ideal , but I was talking about after his bowling went down , also his pace went down.

He could have played at number 6 or 7 as a batting all rounder

 

[waleed88]

Pathan was bowling Slow in cutters with the new ball in that game... I remember Wasim saying what is wrong his grip, he's swinging the ball but barely bowling over 120kph

 

[waleed88]

This game (2006 series Pak vs Ind) seems like a long ago distant memory, the commentary team had so many big names, even Michael Holding was there... The stadiums were filled, International guests stayed at hotels... there used to be alot of media coverage for these big games... All that is gone

 

[PakLFC]

He began thinking he was better then what he actually was. I think he got involved with some lady at the time that could have distracted him away from Cricket that should have been his priority. Could have been a genuine all-rounder seeing he was a decent lower order batsman as well. Can also ask what happened to Munaf, Nehra, Balaji and Rudra Pratap?

 

[Sin Nombre]

Nehra is still playing. In fact, he is the most successful seamer in powerplay overs in T20I cricket since his comeback.

 

[Rana]

His batting was good, but his world class bowling was compromised in the process

 

[cricketjoshila]

Back injury and his action was modified.After that he never had that Left Handers Outswing.

 

[Markhor]

This game (2006 series Pak vs Ind) seems like a long ago distant memory, the commentary team had so many big names, even Michael Holding was there... The stadiums were filled, International guests stayed at hotels... there used to be alot of media coverage for these big games... All that is gone

Stadiums weren't packed for this Test series. The first two Tests were abominations thanks to the typically imbecilic PCB curators who prepared two of the flattest pitches on God's green earth.

The Karachi curators went to the other extreme by producing the mother of all green mambas but it did make for a memorable Test.

 

[LegendAli]

This game (2006 series Pak vs Ind) seems like a long ago distant memory, the commentary team had so many big names, even Michael Holding was there... The stadiums were filled, International guests stayed at hotels... there used to be alot of media coverage for these big games... All that is gone

All because of the Taliban?

 

[ExplicitAI]

This guy fell off hard, but the thing is that he has 5-for in his last ODI

 

[cricketjoshila]

PATHAN'S ACTION IN 2006 SEE HOW SIDE ON HE IS




PATHANS ACTION IN 2012-13 SEE HOW HE IS MORE FRONT ON NOW




This is how he lost his lethal swing.

 

[English August]

On the contrary it will not - someone pointed out (cannot remember who it was) but IPL actually contributed to his downfall. He was essentially making easy money with Kings XI and later with KKR and simply lost the passion and desire to play for the Indian national team.

Right? [MENTION=134809]sensible-indian-fan[/MENTION] [MENTION=134981]Bhaag Viru Bhaag[/MENTION] [MENTION=139847]Ankit007[/MENTION]

I thought he was a bit soft, didn't have the burning desire to succeed at the highest level. I agree that Greg Chappell messed with him bowling, but a really good bowler should be able to recover from that, especially given the opportunities you get in a place like India (lots of domestic cricket, IPL, etc.)

No point in blaming the money -- Sachin, Dhoni, Kohli make/made more money than you can count, but their ambition to succeed never diminished.

 

[Junaids]

Very simply, a lack of fast bowling mentors in India.

Pakistan bowlers have had that luxury since the beginning, with Fazal Mahmood.

But there was nobody Irfan Pathan could turn to, and he did not develop as he should have.

Mind you, he probably wasn't quite tall enough to make it as a fast-medium bowler on modern grassless wickets.

 

[msb314]

Very simply, a lack of fast bowling mentors in India.

Pakistan bowlers have had that luxury since the beginning, with Fazal Mahmood.

But there was nobody Irfan Pathan could turn to, and he did not develop as he should have.

Mind you, he probably wasn't quite tall enough to make it as a fast-medium bowler on modern grassless wickets.

Kapil Dev, Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan were all great mentors/coaches. It if up to the players to sought them ought and actualyl follow their advice which seemed like Irfan did not.

Also he was 6 '1 so height wasn't an issue for him either.

 

[msb314]

I thought he was a bit soft, didn't have the burning desire to succeed at the highest level. I agree that Greg Chappell messed with him bowling, but a really good bowler should be able to recover from that, especially given the opportunities you get in a place like India (lots of domestic cricket, IPL, etc.)

No point in blaming the money -- Sachin, Dhoni, Kohli make/made more money than you can count, but their ambition to succeed never diminished.

The difference was Sachin, Dhoni and Kohli were already established at the international level so the fame and commitment to IPL was just a bonus for them. Their desire to succeed was focused at the international level and the constant need to improve themselves.

Irfan with Kings XI and KKR was just coasting along IMO. He was pretty much milking the cash and saw no need to push himself or have the desire to succeed at international cricket anymore.

You can blame it lack of ambition or bad priorities - hoewver you want to spin it.

 

[msb314]

He began thinking he was better then what he actually was. I think he got involved with some lady at the time that could have distracted him away from Cricket that should have been his priority. Could have been a genuine all-rounder seeing he was a decent lower order batsman as well. Can also ask what happened to Munaf, Nehra, Balaji and Rudra Pratap?

Munaf was genuinely limited as a bowler and probably made the most of his career given the amount he played. He was quite simply not good enough.

Nehra is a weird case. That guy made his Test debut waaay back in 1999 and ODI debut in 2001 but had been in and out of the team for almost one and a half decades. Never a great Test bowler but useful in the shorter formats. The thing he had was that he never gave up despite not being that immensely talented and hence found himself back in the selectors radar many times. If only Irfan Pathan had his work ethic...

RP Singh was a really good bowler but like many others - also lost his pace and swing over time.

Balaji was an amazing bowler - probably the best India has produced in the last two decades but back injuries absolutely destroyed him and he is now only an IPL bowler at best. Cannot believe the last Test match Balaji played was the Bangalore Test in 2005 when YK made 267. Genuinely feel sorry for him...

 

[street cricketer]

Pathan
Balaji
RP Singh
Praveen Kumar

So many bowlers had a bright start but meandered into the oblivion.

 

[cricketfanfirst]

Munaf was genuinely limited as a bowler and probably made the most of his career given the amount he played. He was quite simply not good enough.

Nehra is a weird case. That guy made his Test debut waaay back in 1999 and ODI debut in 2001 but had been in and out of the team for almost one and a half decades. Never a great Test bowler but useful in the shorter formats. The thing he had was that he never gave up despite not being that immensely talented and hence found himself back in the selectors radar many times. If only Irfan Pathan had his work ethic...

RP Singh was a really good bowler but like many others - also lost his pace and swing over time.

Balaji was an amazing bowler - probably the best India has produced in the last two decades but back injuries absolutely destroyed him and he is now only an IPL bowler at best. Cannot believe the last Test match Balaji played was the Bangalore Test in 2005 when YK made 267. Genuinely feel sorry for him...

Wow, I think you are absolutely spot on with the analysis. Actually surprised, that you had such keen interest in following Indian cricket too... real cricket fan I guess : )

Irfan was so amazing at the start of his career, had good pace and was able to swing both ways, he looked like he will become world class, but unfortunately it was not to be.

Regarding Balaji, he had very good wrist position and good release, and again was able to swing both ways. You are right, severe injuries ruined his career. He was one of my favourite players, always used to play with good sportsmanship. Very sad indeed.

If only these had continued to develop and prosper, we would have a strong opening bowling attack in last decade.

 

[Pollack]

PATHAN'S ACTION IN 2006 SEE HOW SIDE ON HE IS

View attachment 72245


PATHANS ACTION IN 2012-13 SEE HOW HE IS MORE FRONT ON NOW

View attachment 72246


This is how he lost his lethal swing.

His initial action was absolutely injurious to back.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

On the contrary it will not - someone pointed out (cannot remember who it was) but IPL actually contributed to his downfall. He was essentially making easy money with Kings XI and later with KKR and simply lost the passion and desire to play for the Indian national team.

Right? [MENTION=134809]sensible-indian-fan[/MENTION] [MENTION=134981]Bhaag Viru Bhaag[/MENTION] [MENTION=139847]Ankit007[/MENTION]

Could be true.

He regressed massively.

Or just followed the trajectory of Indian pacers who regress after starting with a bang.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Lack of motivation! Whatever he achieved was good enough for him. That's the difference between a Wasim Akram and an Irfan. The difference between Sachin Tendulkar and Imran Nazir!

Just like Indian bowlers have lost their way, similar stories about Pakistani batsmen must not be forgotten. When Imran Nazir toured India in 98/99, all the Indian commentators compared him with Sachin Tendulkar. Even we thought he would succeed Sachin. I doubt even Pakistanis recognise him today!

 

[Junaids]

Kapil Dev, Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan were all great mentors/coaches. It if up to the players to sought them ought and actualyl follow their advice which seemed like Irfan did not.

Also he was 6 '1 so height wasn't an issue for him either.

Firstly, those three bowlers were all medium pace swing bowlers averaging 30 or more.

Secondly, 6 feet 1 is far too short for any but the most gifted fast bowlers. Nowadays 6 foot 4 is the absolute minimum.

 

[Rightarmfast]

Firstly, those three bowlers were all medium pace swing bowlers averaging 30 or more.

Secondly, 6 feet 1 is far too short for any but the most gifted fast bowlers. Nowadays 6 foot 4 is the absolute minimum.

So Zaheer Khan was medium pace? Btw, how tall was Waqar Younis?

 

[spade]

A world class player who lost his way due to lack of constant support from the management plus insecurity on his part did no good to transform his game to the next level, also massive ipl deals did not make him hungrier to perform and wrest his place back in the national side.

 

[msb314]

Firstly, those three bowlers were all medium pace swing bowlers averaging 30 or more.

Secondly, 6 feet 1 is far too short for any but the most gifted fast bowlers. Nowadays 6 foot 4 is the absolute minimum.

Waqar was 6"
Dale Steyn is 5 11"
Mitchell Johnson is 6"
Shoaib Akhtar was 5 11"
Amir is 6 1"
Asif is 6 2"

Height is by no means a prerequisite to being a great bowler.

 

[msb314]

Waqar was 6"
Dale Steyn is 5 11"
Mitchell Johnson is 6"
Shoaib Akhtar was 5 11"
Amir is 6 1"
Asif is 6 2"

Height is by no means a prerequisite to being a great bowler.

In fact,

even Wasim was 6 2" along with James Anderson. Trent Boult is also 5 11"

The last time a truly great fast bowler was taller than 6 4" was Ambrose, Walsh and McGrath. Of course there are many tall fast bowlers like Ishant, Tremlett, Southee, Broad etc. but they are average at best.
[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]

 

[msb314]

Wow, I think you are absolutely spot on with the analysis. Actually surprised, that you had such keen interest in following Indian cricket too... real cricket fan I guess : )

Irfan was so amazing at the start of his career, had good pace and was able to swing both ways, he looked like he will become world class, but unfortunately it was not to be.

Regarding Balaji, he had very good wrist position and good release, and again was able to swing both ways. You are right, severe injuries ruined his career. He was one of my favourite players, always used to play with good sportsmanship. Very sad indeed.

If only these had continued to develop and prosper, we would have a strong opening bowling attack in last decade.

Thanks buddy yeah I used to watch a lot of Indian cricket up until 2013/14 but not so much anymore - now exclusively focus on Pakistan cricket!

There was a thread where I talked about some of these Indian fast bowlers about 6 months ago - here it is.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...h-long-careers-whilst-others-faded&highlight=

Please do have a read!

 

[street cricketer]

In fact,

even Wasim was 6 2" along with James Anderson. Trent Boult is also 5 11"

The last time a truly great fast bowler was taller than 6 4" was Ambrose, Walsh and McGrath. Of course there are many tall fast bowlers like Ishant, Tremlett, Southee, Broad etc. but they are average at best.

[MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION]

Broad is by no means average.

 

[msb314]

Broad is by no means average.

He is probably an England great but does not match up to some of his contemporaries like Steyn, Johnson, Boult, Starc etc.

 

[street cricketer]

He is probably an England great but does not match up to some of his contemporaries like Steyn, Johnson, Boult, Starc etc.

Broad is much better than Boult.

 

[Zak_Fan]

Waqar was 6"
Dale Steyn is 5 11"
Mitchell Johnson is 6"
Shoaib Akhtar was 5 11"
Amir is 6 1"
Asif is 6 2"

Height is by no means a prerequisite to being a great bowler.

He is that tall? Don't think so, looks the same height as Kohli who is 5'10" at best.

 

[shebimalik]

M Amir is 6 feet tall.

 

[pacesensation]

Pathan
Balaji
RP Singh
Praveen Kumar

So many bowlers had a bright start but meandered into the oblivion.

balajji lost pace after he got tonked by afridi in that match where afridi scored a 100 in india.

 

[pacesensation]

Jasprit Bumrah is next in line. He has been very below average since last few lois.

The list is so long
irfan pathan
ajit agarkar
ishant sharma
balaji
praveen kumar
srishanth (he lost venom)

 

[pacesensation]

Back injury and his action was modified.After that he never had that Left Handers Outswing.

Dude i think he was overhyped by you guys. He was not that good tbh. People were calling him the next wasim akram

 

[street cricketer]

balajji lost pace after he got tonked by afridi in that match where afridi scored a 100 in india.

Yeah. Sad end to his career really.

Remember him wrecking Pakistan in Pakistan in an ODI series.

Also one six off some bowler (Akhtar?) and breaking his bat in another ball.

 

[Bilal7]

He is that tall? Don't think so, looks the same height as Kohli who is 5'10" at best.

He's taller than Kohli, I remember them being side by side in that Asia cup game. Not sure about exact heights however.

 

[Asim2Good]

IIRC Chappel happened in case of Irfan Pathan.
He was promoted to NO.3 for his batting and he was never same bowler again.
No3 position was not for player like Pathan and at end he sufffered at cost of his bowling

 

[msb314]

He is that tall? Don't think so, looks the same height as Kohli who is 5'10" at best.

Yep that is his official height.

 

[MoJoJoJo]

Irfan Pathan’s interference’ leads to resignation of JKCA selection committee member

Alleging interference by player-cum-mentor Irfan Pathan in the Jammu and Kashmir domestic team selection process, Dhruv Mahajan, one of the four selection committee members of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), has tendered his resignation from the post.

Alleging interference by coach-cum-mentor Irfan Pathan in the Jammu and Kashmir domestic team selection process, Dhruv Mahajan, one of the four selection committee members of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), has tendered his resignation from the post.

“I have tendered my resignation. Pathan has been doing a lot of interference in the team selection process which is in violation of the constitution,” Mahajan told PTI.

Pathan was appointed coach-cum-mentor of the Jammu and Kashmir in March this year for the 2018-19 season.

Mahajan, former skipper of Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy team, submitted his resignation to the JKCA Chief Executive Officer Aashiq Bukhari, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and chief selector, JKCA, Parvez Qaiser.

“He should concentrate on his job and not make unnecessary interferences in the job of others. The BCCI constitution has made it amply clear that an individual cannot hold more than two posts and player is also considered as a post,” said the former all-rounder, who has played 48 Ranji Trophy matches and 37 List A matches.

He also alleged that since his appointment Pathan has not played a single match despite being appointed at the capacity of player-cum-coach. “Selection committee is there to select the team and player cum mentor is there to play and mentor the team. He has not played a single match since his appointment.” he added.

The 33-year-old Pathan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is for India between 2003 and 2012. Pathan was captain of Baroda for the past two domestic seasons.

On the other hand, players seem to be happy with Pathan’s way of working. State skipper Parvez Rasool reckoned that things have vastly improved since Irfan came on board as a mentor in June, giving the players some much-needed confidence and lifting their morale.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...ion-of-jkca-selection-committee-member-744011

 

[Justcrazy]

He was a good handy player in shorter formats . Could have played as a bits and pieces players.

 

[Stewie]

he is still probably better than pandya

 

[giri26]

I am very happy that Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar have all not followed the traditional Indian bowling bug. They are still playing after few years of international cricket, bowling at same pace and bowling well. Irfan was a sad case as after a while he started to consider himself a batsman rather than a bowler. When he was sent back from SA in 2006, the writing was on the wall. He did make few come backs here and there but he was never the same bowler.