Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, who saw some new lows in his career over the past 12 months, has become the new mentor cum player for Jammu & Kashmir side for the upcoming season.
The talented all rounder was removed from Baroda squad last season and there was lot of uncertainty over his career in the last few months. However, the move to Jammu & Kashmir will provide much needed relief for the veteran cricketer and would definitely help in reviving his career in the near future.
Irfan has officially joined the team at Sher-i-Kashmir International Cricket Stadium, Sonwar and will help to grow the glorious game across Jammu and Kashmir over the next few months.
He is going to be handling few coaching clinics in helping the game to grow in the region. The J&K Cricket Association (JKCA) Administrators and JKCA CEO Syed Ashquie Hussain Bukhari have toiled hard to get Irfan Pathan to their state team and the 33-year old has interacted with young cricketers at the stadium in Sonwar.
“I am here for you and I will go into every district of the State to unearth the hidden talent. My job here is to help develop J&K cricket as mentor cum player. You should always remember one thing and it is most important suggestion from me to you.
“Always play with winning attitude and try to help your team win in whatever capacity you can. It is not only about big hundreds and number of wickets, even small help team win,” Pathan told youngsters.
Irfan Pathan will be plying his trade for J & K for the next one year. He is keen to help the local board to establish cricket as the leading game in the state and increase the quality of the both coaches and players.
“We have already started to work on the plan and soon we will set that in motion. J&K has got the talent and need is to give them platform and chance to excel. Idea is to work alongwith senior players of State to make plan successful,” he said.
Irfan Pathan was not roped in by any team for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League. But he is keen to prove his worth in the upcoming domestic season via J & K team and attract the interest of franchise owners for the future seasons.
