There’s no iota of doubt that Yusuf Pathan has struggled to define his batting role for the Indian Premier League (IPL 2019) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In nine matches, he could fetch just 37 runs at an unhealthy average of 18.50. However, his younger brother Irfan Pathan has come to his rescue with interesting stats.
The player has a knack to send balls literally into the orbit has the strike-rate of 90.24 in this IPL season. Eventually, it has infuriated the critics to lash out at the all-rounder.
Interestingly, SRH’s middle-order has failed to leave an impact which added more pressure on the opening pair.
Following a decent start, the dip in batting form has made things worse for the Kane Williamson-led Hyderabad.
On the other side, Irfan took to the micro-blogging website Twitter to back his brother Yusuf, who has been lambasted for his poor show in the ongoing twelfth edition of the IPL.
Yusuf looked off-colour with the willow:
Over the years, Yusuf has been the man who made his appearance felt. Well, since the inception of the IPL, Yusuf’s all-round show had proved to be beneficial apart from the occasional blips. But, for the ongoing season, he looked merely a pale-shadow with the bat in hand.
With Yusuf under fire, he believes it’s unfair to criticise the all-rounder. While talking about recent numbers, Irfan reiterated that Yusuf has remained unbeaten on five occasions in nine matches.
He added Yusuf is the match winners who bat later down the order.
In this season, the 36-year-old Vadodara-born Yusuf could face only 41 deliveries and hasn’t been able to bat on two occasions in nine games.
The 34-year-old Irfan, who now plays for the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) state, in his brother’s defence maintained Yusuf has bagged 16 Man of the Match Awards.
In 173 matches, Yusuf has accumulated 3,201 runs at an average of 29.36. He has a hundred and 13 half-centuries to his name. Overall, he remained not out on 44 occasions during his IPL career so far.
“9 matches, 5 not outs, didn’t bat twice. Faced a total of just 41 balls this IPL. So ppl who talk abt his performance don’t forget this stat. He is the only match winner to bat so down in the order and win 16 man of the matches,” Irfan tweeted after Yusuf draws a flak.
Hyderabad is placed fourth on the IPL points table with five wins in 11 matches.
Yusuf has represented Rajasthan Royals (KKR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before joining SRH in the eleventh edition of the IPL 2018.
Here’s Irfan Pathan’s Tweet:
9 matches, 5 not outs, didn't bat twice. Faced a total of just 41 balls this IPL. So ppl who talk abt his performance don't forget this stat.
He is the only match winner to bat so down in the order and win 16 man of the matches @iamyusufpathan— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 27, 2019