Irfan Pathan, who was once Indian sensational pace bowler, announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket on last Saturday (4th January) at the age of 35-year-old. After announcing his retirement, Irfan revealed one thing that disappointed him.
When Irfan Pathan made his international debut in December 2003 during Australia tour, the left-arm pace bowler impressed with his swing bowling. He was very consistent in his swing bowling skills. With the time progress, he improved his batting skills and grew up as a talented all-rounder.
But Irfan Pathan’s international career faced many downfalls due to consistent fitness issues. He made several good comebacks and provided some unforgettable performances. He was also a crucial member during India’s victory in the inaugural ICC World T20 (2007), while Irfan was the Player of the Match in the final for his incredible match-winning bowling performance (3/16). In his international career, Irfan faced many ins and outs and played his last international match in October 2012. Though he tried hard to make another comeback in the national team, he failed to achieve success on this mission.
Irfan Pathan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is where the left-handed batsman scored 2,821 runs, and the left-arm pacer also bagged 301 wickets. In January 2006, during the Karachi Test, Irfan claimed a Test hat-trick in the very first over of that Test match.
In a recent interview with Sportstar, Irfan Pathan talked about his regret during his cricket career. He is disappointed to not having a long international career. While many players move to the peak form at the age of 27-year-old, his international career ended at that age. He is still searching for this answer.
Irfan told Sportstar, “Many people feel I did not get the backing from the captain or the team management. I think that’s not in my control. All I cared about was doing well for the team and I am glad I could do that. But yes, one thing disappoints me. When I took my 300th wicket, I was 27. People peak at 27, but I did not play international cricket after that. Why? I don’t have an answer to that. Maybe, in the future, things will come out in the open.
“When people play until 35, they end up performing even better. If I had played for that long, maybe, I would’ve had a more glittering career. But I am proud with whatever I have done — with both bat and ball. I have been able to make an impact on Indian cricket and I am happy about that.”
Irfan Pathan revealed who utilised him the best
In his international career, Irfan Pathan played under six captains. These captains were Sourav Ganguly (45 matches), Rahul Dravid (49 matches), Virender Sehwag (6 matches), MS Dhoni (68 matches), Anil Kumble (4 matches) and Gautam Gambhir (1 match).
While he enjoyed playing under every captain, he called Sourav Ganguly as very special. However, he feels that the captain Rahul Dravid utilised him best as his batting average improved immensely at that time. He also praised the former Test captain Anil Kumble.
Irfan said, “I have enjoyed playing under all the captains. Sourav Ganguly was outstanding, he was very special. Everyone appreciated his captaincy and no fan will disagree that he managed the team well even in the toughest of times. He gave Indian cricket a direction and now we are benefiting from that. But I guess Rahul Dravid was the one who utilised me the best. Not only my bowling, but my batting performances also improved under him. My batting average improved immensely and my average as a No. 3 batsman was 32. After Dravid, I never got a chance to bat up the order.”
“And I must admit Anil Kumble, too, was a fantastic captain. He handled the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal in 2008 very well. I don’t think many would have been able to handle it as well. We knew that pressure was mounting, but he took everyone along and ensured that we won the Test in Perth. It’s commendable.”