Contrary to the popular speculations, discarded India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has dismissed suggestions that former India head coach Greg Chappell was responsible for his ouster from the national team.
The left-arm pacer was one of the most sought-after bowling talents in his initial years in international cricket but his career never lived up to the early promises. Beginning his career as a bowling prodigy, he joined the Indian team as a 19-year old and was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket. The performances in 2003-04 tour of Australia or the hattrick in Pakistan in 2006 only elevated his stature. His batting soon took off under new captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell, making many compare him with Kapil Dev.
But amid all these, his pace dropped significantly and his swing also disappeared as he found himself out of the team by the end of 2006. Since then, he never managed to justify his immense potential which cost him a regular place in the team. His remarkable fall from grace had stunned one and all and many saw Greg Chappell as the reason behind it. However, Irfan feels that not the former coach but injuries were responsible for the way his career panned out.
“Nothing of that sort happened,” he said. “I know a lot of people saying Greg Chappell ruined my career which is not true. No one can ruin anyone’s career. What you need to do, you need to do. You alone are responsible for what you do,” said Pathan.
“When I was dropped from the team, I was unfortunately injured. After that making a comeback, it was a bit difficult. I don’t blame anyone,” he added.
The Baroda all-rounder has been signed by Gujarat Lions as a replacement for Dwayne Bravo, who was ruled out of the 2017 IPL with a hamstring injury. Irfan, who was unsold at the auction in February at a base price of INR 50 lakhs, expressed his delight over getting an IPL deal and hoped to make the opportunity count.
“It is wonderful to be here. Yes, but it is disappointing when you not get picked, initially. If you get picked even if you are in the middle or fag end of the tournament you feel good, hopefully, I will get the opportunity and do well,” he said
“The best thing what a sportsman can do is to look forward and not look back too much, and that is when you go wrong. I know my international and domestic experience will help me perform well. Yeah, at the moment I am very happy to be playing for Gujarat Lions,” he added.
On being compared with the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, the 32-year old said:
“Kapil Dev has been in a different league altogether when it comes to all-rounders. I don’t know anyone can fill his shoes. People have compared me to him, but it did not affect me. But as a youngster, you like the comparison, which gives you the confidence to do better.”
Pathan further said he had to change his bowling action due to a back problem but has resorted back to his old action.
“When I was working with TA Shekhar that time I had back problem. So, I changed my action, and that actually put less pressure on my back. Now I have gone back to my own action and hopefully, the swing is coming out of the hand very nicely. I will improve by playing more matches,” he said.
Pathan will have a chance to play his first IPL game this season when the Lions, who are languishing at the bottom of the table, travel to Bangalore to take on sixth-placed Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday (April 27).