Irfan Pathan
Category : Sportsmen
(2 out of 5 based on 4 Ratings)
Irfan Pathan Biography
•Full Name- Irfan Pathan
•Born- 27th October 1984, Baroda, Gujarat
•Age- 27
•Debut(Tests)-12th December,2003
•Debut(ODI)- 9th January, 2004
•Debut (T20)-Ist December 2006
•Teams Played- India, Baroda, Middlesex, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils.
•Batting style- Left Hand bat
•Bowling Discipline- Left Arm Fast medium
•Role- Bowling and All rounder
Irfan Pathan entered and stormed themselves into Indian team with performance and was hailed as the next bowling sensation and as such and created a created. However an injury kept in exile for almost for some time before made a resounding comeback in the last year with stellar performance. It wasn’t easy especially when making a comeback is never and it is hardwork, persistence and unwavering self belief that stand out in adversity.
EARLY TIMES AND INTERNATIONAL CAREER- Irfan along with his brother Yusuf were born into a poor family in the city of Vadodara. His father as a muezzin, his parents wanted him and his elder brother to become Islamic scholars. But both brothers and in particular Irfan wanted to play cricket and tried all they could even of their bare necessities to play the game. It wasn’t easy but the brothers maintained their interest and zeal and worked solely or their zeal. This zeal saw Pathan making a entry into Baroda’s win and entered and the U16 tile at the age of 13 years. He impressed at the age of 15 scoring 61 and 9 in his batting and scalping 3 for 41 as the Baroda won the game against Maharashtra. Pathan was selected to play for the U-15 Indian team and impressed with 15 wickets at a miserly average of 12.66 in 10 matches and 3/2 against Thailand.
Again in the under 19 match and Pathan impressed in the under 19 stage both with bat and ball and earned his place in the Baroda team. His consistent performance against Baroda saw him get a call up for the Border Gavaskar series and in the 2th test of the match and scalped two wickets for 60 runs and impressed with his ability to reverse swing the ball. In the CB tri nations series that followed Pathan emerged with 16 wickets and was named in his maiden ODI series. How the high point of this time was when Pathan led the Indian Bowling attack in 2004. He took 12 wickets and maintained a high proportion of maiden over’s and was instrumental in India’s win the series with his impressive bowling. He continued with his string of good performances in the test series.
Pathan also made his name in the Bangladesh tour and the following tours. However Pathan wasn’t able to make considerable performances with the ball and began to dwindle in pace and lost his ability to swing the ball effectively that led to extremely poor performances. He also seamed to be fatigued and completely out of sorts as he took his bowling. Pathan was omitted from playing for the country and ,made comeback performances that in 2008 in the Kit play cup that did very little to cement his place in the team. However Pathan never lost hope and kept trying and made considerable performances both in T20 and domestic cricket and also contended with issues of injury and fitness. This paid off and it came as a surprise as the rookie was selected to play against West Indies in 2011 and picked up a wicket on the very first ball of his return.
He was selected for the Commonwealth Bank Series, playing four games and scoring 96 runs at an average of 24 with a top score of 47. He also succeeded in taking 6 wickets at an average of 31.16; his best figures were 3/16. His strong performances led to his inclusion in the Asia Cup squad. He played three matches and did not get a chance to bat but he proved himself with the ball taking 4/32 in the first match of the series against Sri Lanka. He picked up two more wickets in the next two games. He was the part of the team touring South Africa for the one T20 played on 31 March 2012 where he had figures of 4-0-44-1 but was yet to bat. Pathan also played for the Delhi Daredevils the Indian Premier League in 2012, taking only 8 wickets from 17 matches with an average of 58.12. He is once again found himself in the mainstream for selection.
ACHEIVEMENTS AND AWARDS
•2004 ICC EMERGING PLAYER OF THE YEAR.
•India has won 6 of the 7 test when Pathan has taken a five wicket haul.
•India has won both ODI matches wherein Pathan has taken a five wicket haul.
•Pathan’s hat trick against Pakistan is considered his best and most remembered performance.
CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES- At his inability and dip in performances there were various experts who openly criticized him for his dip in bowling and his lack of effectiveness to swing the ball and his line length. Another controversy was when Wasim Akaram coached and gave him tips for bowling which did not go well with the Pakistani Supporters.
Best Performances
•5 for 61 against Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Stadium,2012
His best performance in 2012 and also one that signaled his comeback and a strong statement that he was hear to stay for the long-term. On a personal front this meant a lot and in terms of statistics his fivers have also ended in Indian wins.
•4 for 32 against Sri Lanka
His best performance that proved that he still has the steam to deliver the best performance and his match winning figures sent out a strong signal to others.
•102* against Pakistan in Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore 2007
This innings enabled the team to register a convincing draw and Pathan steered the innings with his 102 non out and proved that when the team wanted he could play with both bat and ball.
STATISTICS
TEST
Batting
Matches- 29
Innings -40
N/o-5
Runs-1105
Highest-102 V/s Pakistan at Chinnaswamy in Bangalore'
Average- 31.57
S/R-53.22
Bowling
Matches-29
Innings-54
Wickets-100
Average-32.26
Econmy-3.28
best-7for 59
ODI
BATTING
Matches- 120
Innings -87
N/o-21
Runs-1544
Highest-83
Average- 23.39
S/R-79.54
Bowling
Matches-120
Innings-118
Wickets-173
Average-29.72
Econmy-5.27
best- 5 for 27
T20
Matches- 19
Innings -12
N/o-7
Runs-133
Highest-33
Average- 26.60
S/R-125.47
Bowling
Matches-19
Innings-18
Wickets-23
Average-21.60
Econmy-7.88
best- 3 for 16
