irfan pathan

Irfan Pathan

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Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan at the Domestic Airport.jpg
Irfan Pathan
Personal information
Full nameIrfan Khan Pathan
Born27 October 1984 (age 32)
VadodaraGujaratIndia
NicknameGuddu
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Batting styleLeft-hand bat
Bowling styleLeft arm medium fast
RoleAll-rounder
RelationsYusuf Pathan (brother)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 248)12 December 2003 v Australia
Last Test5 April 2008 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 153)9 January 2004 v Australia
Last ODI4 Aug 2012 v Sri Lanka
ODI shirt no.56
T20I debut (cap 7)1 December 2006 v South Africa
Last T20I2 October 2012 v South Africa
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2000–presentBaroda
2005Middlesex
2008–2010Kings XI Punjab
2011–2013Delhi Daredevils (squad no. 56)
2014Sunrisers Hyderabad(squad no. 56)
2015Chennai Super Kings(squad no. 56)
2016Rising Pune Supergiants(squad no. 28)
2017Gujarat Lions
Career statistics
CompetitionTestODIFCT20Is
Matches291209424
Runs scored1,1051,5443,303172
Batting average31.8923.3931.4524.57
100s/50s1/90/52/180/0
Top score1028312133*
Balls bowled58845,85518484462
Wickets10017333828
Bowling average32.2629.7228.5522.07
5 wickets in innings72170
10 wickets in match203n/a
Best bowling7/595/277/353/16
Catches/stumpings8/–21/–27/–2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 5 November 2012
Irfan Khan Pathan (About this sound pronunciation ; born 27 October 1984) is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in the 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team. Since then, he has been in and out of the limited-overs teams (ODIs and T20Is), and has only sporadic appearances in Test cricket. Pathan played his last Test in April, 2008 at the age of 24.[1]
Beginning his career as a fast-medium swing and seam bowler, Pathan broke into the national team soon after turning 19, and evoked comparisons with Pakistan's Wasim Akram with his promising performances and prodigious swing. He cemented his position in the team and was named by the International Cricket Council as the 2004 Emerging Player of the Year. Pathan was instrumental in India's One-day international and Test series wins in Pakistan in 2004. He was described by the media as the "blue-eyed boy" of the Indian cricket.[2] In late-2004 he took 18 wickets in two Tests against Bangladesh, but the start of 2005 he performed poorly and conceded runs at a high rate, leading to a brief exile from the one-day international (ODI) team.
Immediately thereafter, Australian Greg Chappell, one of the leading batsmen of his time, became India's coach (2005) and identified Pathan's batting potential. Pathan improved his batting skills and tried to become a complete bowling all-rounder, and he opened the batting on occasions in ODIs and scored 93 in a Test match (10 Dec 2005, versus Sri Lanka in Delhi) in the role after an illness to Virender Sehwag. He made three scores beyond 80 in the space of four Test innings against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. For the first nine months of Chappell's stint at the helm, Pathan performed strongly with both bat and ball, scoring runs regularly and frequently taking top-order wickets. He rose to No. 2 in the ICC's ODI rankings for all-rounders and was also in the top five in the Test rankings. This led critics to compare him to former Indian pace bowling allrounder Kapil Dev.[3]
In early 2006, Pathan became the only bowler to take a Test hat-trick in the first over of the match (vs Pakistan at Karachi). However, the productive run did not last and after the start of 2006, Pathan began to steadily lose pace and swing, and his wicket-taking dwindled. Although Pathan's batting continued to be productive, he was not regarded as a specialist and was dropped from the team in both Tests and ODIs by the end of 2006, and by 2007 was no longer in the squad.
He returned to international cricket in September 2007 for the inaugural World Twenty20, where he took three wickets and was man of the match as India beat Pakistan in the final. This earned him a recall into the ODI team, where he was a regular for most of the next 12 months before being dropped as his economy rate continued to trend upwards and subsequently struggled with a loss of form and injuries. In late-2007 Pathan was also recalled into the Test team after 19 months and hit his maiden Test century, but could not maintain his place in the team as his bowling was not effective enough with only two pacemen needed. Pathan played his last Test for India in April 2008 against South Africa.[4] He continued to perform with both bat and ball at the domestic level, although his sedate pace is frequently criticized as being irrelevant at the international level. However, he impressed during the 2011–12 Ranji Trophy, where he was the leading wicket-taker, and his performances earned him a recall to the national side again.[4]
Irfan Pathan, along with players such as Vinod Kambli and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, was included in the list of "India's lost boys" by Shashi Tharoor.[5]

Early years[edit]

Irfan Pathan was born in the western Indian city of Vadodara (former Baroda)
Pathan was born 27 October 1984 in Baroda, Gujarat, India and is of Pashtun (Pathan) ancestry, belonging to the Pathan community in Gujarat.[6] He grew up with his elder brother Yusuf in a mosque in Vadodara, in an impoverished family. His father served as the muezzin. Although their parents wished them to become Islamic scholars, Pathan and his brother took an interest in cricket. Their games on the grounds off and inside the mosque often necessitated apologies from their father to Muslim worshippers who visited it. In the beginning his deliveries did not reach the other end of the cricket pitch, but rigorous six-hour training sessions in blazing heat and his family's sense of discipline saw him progress steadily. Under the guidance of former Indian captain Datta Gaekwad, Pathan rose to get selected in the Under-14 Baroda cricket team, and when he was selected at Under-15 level to represent Baroda in a national tournament, he was finally presented with a full set of cricket equipment, having before been restricted to second-hand gear due to his family's limited economic means.[3][7]
In December 1997, Pathan broke into the Baroda Under-16 team,[8] less than two months after turning 13. He took a total of 1/35 and scored 1 and 11 against Gujarat and was dropped immediately afterwards. He did not play again for the Under-16s for two years, and in November 1999, less than a month after turning 15, he made his next appearance, this time for Baroda Under-19s against Maharashtra. He scored 61 and 9 and took a total of 3/41 in a victory, but was immediately dropped back to the Under-16s for the next match, and spent the rest of the 1999–2000 season there. He bowled short spells in the younger division, taking four wickets at 38.00 in six matches, averaging less than seven overs an innings. He had more success with the bat, scoring 253 runs at 31.62 including a best of 72 against Mumbai.
Pathan was then selected for the India Under-15 team in mid-2000 to play a series of matches against their colleagues from other countries. He took 15 wickets at 12.66 in ten matches, including a best of 3/2 against Thailand, and scored 15 runs at 7.50.[8] India won all but one of the matches, most by enormous margins.[8]
At the start of the 2000–01 season, Pathan was immediately back in the Under-19s, this time bowling more, often delivering more than 20 overs per innings. In four matches, he scored 102 runs at 102.00 including a best of 63 not out, and took 10 wickets at 32.50. He was then promoted to the Under-22s, where he scored 44 and took 4/71 in his first match against Saurashtra, prompting the Baroda selectors to propel him into the senior team.[8]

Senior beginnings[edit]

He started against Bengal in March 2001, after fellow left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan was selected for the national team. He scored 13 not out and 2, and took 3/40 and 2/68 in a 222-run win. However, he was unable to repeat this form in the three remaining matches, taking only two more wickets in total, but Baroda nevertheless managed to win the Ranji Trophy. He ended his maiden season with seven wickets at 43.28 and 75 runs at 12.50 with a best score of 40 not out against Orissa.[8]
The Ranji win saw Baroda qualify for the following season's Irani Trophy where they took on the Rest of India. Pathan scored 32 in the second innings and took 3/95 and 1/34 in a defeat,[8] but his performance reminded Test batsman V. V. S. Laxman of Zaheer.[3] However, he was omitted from the senior team and sent back to the Under-19s the next week and stayed there for the next two months, playing eight double-innings matches for Baroda. He took 20 wickets at 20.40, including a best of 6/41 against Gujarat, and scoring 190 runs at 31.66 with a best of 63 not out.[8] Pathan was then recalled to the senior team and made his List A debut against Mumbai, taking 1/69 from nine overs. Pathan further honed his bowling at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, after being referred by Indian selector Kiran More.[3]
In early-2002, he was selected for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where he took six wickets at 27.50 and scored 30 runs at 15.00, taking 2/18 in a win over South Africa.[9]
Upon returning to India, Pathan was selected in a senior zonal team for the first time. He was selected for West Zone for the Duleep Trophy, even though he had not played a single match for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy season. He immediately repaid the selectors' faith by taking 4/74 and 6/72, his first ten-wicket match haul, in the first fixture against Central Zone, setting up a 161-run win. In the next match, he took 4/72 and 3/85 as West defeated North by 178 runs.[8]He only took 1/55 in the next match against South but West were through to the final, where he took 4/43 to help cut down East Zone for 162 in the first innings, sealing the title.[8] In all Pathan, had taken 22 wickets at 18.22 for the tournament, and scored 46 runs at 11.50.[8]
These performances propelled Pathan into the India A team at the age of 17 and a half, for a tour of Sri Lanka, where he took six wickets at 35.00 in three first-class matches. Pathan then went on an India Under-19 tour of England in mid-2002. He took 15 wickets at 25.93 in the three youth Tests, which India lost 1–0, with a best of 4/83 in the Second Test.[8] He then took four wickets at 42.00, conceding more than six runs an over, and scored 66 runs at 33.00 in the three youth ODIs, which India won 2–1.[8]
Pathan was rewarded with selection in the Rest of India team that played against Railways in the Irani Trophy at the start of the 2002–03 season. He took a total of 2/84 and scored 29 as the Ranji champions prevailed.[8] He struggled in the Ranji Trophy, taking 18 wickets at 39.33 in seven matches. Half of his wickets came in one match against Orissa in which he claimed 6/31 and 3/46 in an innings victory.[8] He scored 161 runs at 23.00, with a 54 against Tamil Nadu being his maiden first-class fifty, as well as two other forties.[8] Despite a lack of wickets for Baroda, Pathan was selected for the Duleep Trophy, playing for Elite Group A. He took 5/88 and 4/106 against Plate Group A and 4/101 against Elite Group C, before taking 3/53 and 2/42 as Elite Group A defeated Elite Group B in the final by seven wickets. Pathan ended the tournament with 19 wickets at 27.00 and scored 72 runs at 24.00.[8] In the one-dayers, Pathan also struggled for Baroda, taking three wickets at 64.66 in four matches at an economy rate of 4.85, but he was nevertheless selected for the zonal team, where he took four wickets at 34.25 in four matches at an economy rate of 3.91.[8]
In 2003 he was selected for the India A team which travelled to England. Playing in five first-class matches, Pathan took nine wickets at 43.77, including 4/60 against Yorkshire and 3/83 against South Africa.[8] He managed only 8 runs at 4.00 with the bat. He had more success in the limited-overs matches, taking eight wickets at 11.12 in three matches, including a 4/19 against Lancashire, and scoring 27 runs at 27.00.[8]
At the start of the 2003–04 season, Pathan played in the domestic Challenger Trophy for the first time. Representing India A, he had little success, taking two wickets at 79.00 at an economy rate of 5.85,[8] and he did not force his way into India's limited-overs team.[7][8][10] He was then selected for India Emerging Players for a series of limited-overs matches against counterparts from Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pathan took seven wickets at 11.00 in three matches, including 4/22 and 3/35 in two matches against Pakistan.[8]
In late 2003, he was selected for the India Under-19 team to compete in an Asian youth ODI competition in Pakistan, where he was the leading bowler with 18 wickets at 7.38, with an economy rate of 3.54. This was more than twice that of the second leading wicket-taker. He was named as the player of the tournament, which India won after defeating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final.[11] Pathan was featured on the headlines when he claimed 9/16 against Bangladesh, helping to bowl them out for 34, and helped India to emerge victorious over Sri Lanka in the final, taking 3/33.[12] Pathan also scored 94 runs at 31.33 with the bat, compiling scores of 32, 28 and 34.[8] Pathan returned to India and took 3/51 and 1/33 and scored 26 and 12 in his first Ranji Trophy match for the season, against Andhra Pradesh.[8] This resulted in him being selected for the Indian national squad for the 2003–04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in Australia.[7]

Early international career (2003–2005)[edit]

Pathan made his Test debut in December 2003, following an injury to the Baroda left-armer Zaheer Khan
Pathan made his Test debut in the Second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2003. At the age of 19, he opened the bowling following an injury to the Baroda left-armer Zaheer Khan in the First Test. In a high scoring match, he took the wicket of Matthew Hayden while giving away 160 runs at almost five runs an over.[13] He scored one in his only innings as India took a four-wicket victory.[8] He was dropped for the following Test upon the return of Zaheer, but was recalled for the Fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground after Zaheer broke down in his only spell in the Third Test. On another flat pitch, Pathan took the wickets of Steve WaughAdam Gilchrist in the first innings in a spell of reverse swing bowling. He had Waugh caught behind from an outswinger and then bowled Gilchrist with an inswingingyorker. He ended with 2/80 in the first innings and dismissed Ricky Ponting in the second innings to end with match figures of 3/106.[14]
In the ODI tri-nation tournament against Australia and Zimbabwe that followed, Pathan was the leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets at an average of 31 in his maiden ODI series.[15] After ending with 0/61 from ten overs on debut against Australia, he bounced back to take 3/64 and 3/51 in the next two matches against the World Cup holders. He earned his first international man of the match award in the tournament, after taking 4/24 against Zimbabwe at the WACA Ground in Perth in his eighth ODI.[16][17][18] However, his tour ended on a bad note after he was reprimanded by match referees for mocking the Australian batsman Damien Martyn after his dismissal in the second final.[19] In that match, he took 2/75 as Australia amassed 5/359 and crushed India by 208 runs. Pathan made 30 in the match as his team folded for only 151. His batting improved towards the end of the tour with three scores of at least 19 in his last four innings, and he ended with 86 runs at 17.20 for the tournament.[8]
Pathan subsequently led the pace attack again on the 2004 Test tour to Pakistan, taking 12 wickets and bowling a higher proportion of maiden overs than any other bowler to help secure India's first series victory over Pakistan in two decades.[3] In the first innings, he bowled 28 overs and took 4/100 to help India restrict their arch-rivals to 407 and take a 268-run lead. After stand-in captain Rahul Dravid enforced the follow on, Pathan tied the Pakistanis down, bowling 12 maidens in his 21 overs to end with 2/26 as India secured an innings win. Pathan then scored 49 in the Second Test in Lahore after a batting collapse of the top order, helping India to recover to 287.[14] However this was not enough as Pakistan reached 489 despite Pathan bowling 44 overs to take 3/107, and the hosts went on to complete a nine-wicket win. In the deciding Test in Rawalpindi, Pathan took 2/49 and 1/35 in an innings win. He ended the series with 12 wickets at 28.50 and 64 runs at 21.33.[8]
He also continued his prolific wicket-taking in the ODIs, taking eight wickets at 17.87 at an economy rate of 4.76 in three matches, including three top-order wickets in the deciding fifth ODI in Lahore.[16][20] He also scored 36 runs at 36.00 in the ODIs.[8] His ability to swing the ball both ways and his innings in Lahore led to speculation that he could become an all rounder.[21] In recognition of his performances at the start of his international career, Pathan was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year in 2004.[22]
Pathan continued his productive form in ODIs at the 2004 Asian Cup in Sri Lanka, where he was the leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets at 16.28 at an economy rate of 4.37 in six matches, with three three-wicket hauls against the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively. He also scored 64 runs at 32.00 including a 38 in a defeat against Pakistan.[8]
He then struggled during an ODI tour in Europe, taking three wickets at 78.00 at an economy rate of 5.48 from five matches. India won only one of these games and lost four.[8] Pathan returned to form during India's brief campaign at the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy in England, where he claimed 5 wickets at an average of 9.00 and economy rate of 3.00.[20][23] He took 2/11 against Kenya and 3/34 against Pakistan, but defeat at the hands of the latter ended India's campaign.[8]
Returning to India, Pathan then represented his country at the highest level for the first time on home soil. Pathan continued to improve his batting with a defiant 31 and 55 against Australia in October 2004 in the First Test in Bangalore. This was his first half-century in Tests, and was scored after the specialist batsmen had failed. Nevertheless, he managed a total of only 2/100 and India fell to a 217-run loss. Pathan's career was put on hold after he suffered a side strain in the following Test in Chennai, in which he totalled 0/68, causing him to miss the Tests in Nagpur and Mumbai.[24][25] Australia went on to take the series 2–1 and Pathan ended with two wickets at 84.00 and 100 runs at 33.33.[8] After being overlooked for the First Test with selectors opting for three spinners,[26] he returned in the Second Test against South Africa in Kolkata, aggregating 3/89 and scoring 24 in an eight-wicket win that sealed a 1–0 series win.[8]
Pathan made his name in Tests on the December tour to Bangladesh. Swinging the ball both ways, Pathan took 5/45 and 6/51 including several LBW decisions in the First Test in Dhaka to claim his first ten-wicket haul and his first Test man of the match award as India claimed a commanding innings victory.[27] He followed this with a match haul of 7/118 in the following match in Chittagong to take 18 wickets at 11.88 to be named as man of the series.[14][28][29] India swept the series, winning both matches by an innings. Although the Indian batsmen scored heavily, Pathan managed only five and four.[8] He played in only one of the three ODIs against the hosts as India rotated their players, taking 1/45 and scoring 21 not out in an 11-run win.[8]
In late 2004, the Board of Control for Cricket in India introduced central contracts for international players for the first time, and Pathan was given a B-grade contract. 2005 began rather poorly for Pathan. He took only six wickets at 68.33 in the home Test series against Pakistan after losing pace and accuracy.[30] In the last two matches, he managed totals of 2/122 and 1/160, conceding more than four runs an over as the Pakistani batsmen scored heavily. He scored 64 runs at 16.00 and made a duck in the second innings of the Third Test as the hosts collapsed on the last day to squander the series 1–1.[8]
He was subsequently dropped for the ODI series, playing in only one match in which he conceded 67 runs without picking up a wicket in 8 overs. However, he did manage to post his first ODI half-century, scoring 64, defiantly holding up his end as India were bowled out for 213, sealing a 106-run loss.[16] Greg Chappell became the coach of the Indian team following the Pakistan series and identified Pathan as a potential all-rounder. He started to hone Pathan's batting skills, which had up to this point yielded 275 Test runs at 19.64.[28] Pathan was subsequently signed by Middlesex County Cricket Club for the English country season, where he attempted to regain his form after his bad start to the year.[31] Pathan arrived in late-May and stayed for six weeks. He achieved better results than in the Pakistan series, taking six wickets at 24.66 and an economy rate of 5.41 in four one-dayers, including 3/42 against Essex. In the new Twenty20 format, Pathan took 12 wickets at 12.75 and an economy rate of 6.37 in seven matches, including a best of 4/27 against Essex. He scored 21 not out in the same match to help seal a 31-run win.[8] However, his difficulties in first-class matches continued. He took 4/81 and 1/68, and scored 41 and 13 not out in a productive debut against Sussex, and Middlesex were only one wicket away from victory when time ran out. However, he failed to take another wicket and ended with five wickets at 64.80 and 126 runs at 63.00, scoring 68 against Surrey.[8]

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