On this day: Birth of India’s blue-eyed boy – Irfan Pathan
Former Indian cricketer and commentator Irfan Pathan celebrates his 37th birthday today, and one cannot forget his unmatchable contributions to Indian cricket. He was an integral part of the Indian team that won the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. When he kicked off his career, he was just 19 and was compared to legendary Wasim Akram due to his bowling brilliance. His fast-medium swing bowling helped the Men in Blue on innumerable occasions.
Pathan cemented his place well enough in the team soon and for the same reason, he was named as the ICC Emerging Player of the Year in 2004. He played a vital role in the team’s victory during the ODI and Test series in Pakistan the same year. The way he lost track with the team is still surprising and heartbreaking for the Indian fans. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the team couldn’t utilise his potential to the very best. Shashi Tharoor wrote a famous book titled “India’s lost boys” and Pathan found a place in it along with Vinod Kambli and a few others.
The Hat-trick boy
In early 2006, Pathan became the only bowler to grab a hat-trick in the very first over of a Test match. However, his productivity didn’t last much and his form started dipping. He lost his pace and capacity of swinging the ball, which hindered his wicket-taking abilities. In the meanwhile, he worked on his batting skills and was displaying a fine form with the willow but wasn’t considered a specialist by Team India.
Greg Chappell became India’s coach in 2005 and it was he who recognised the batting potential of Pathan. He worked a lot on his batting and tried to develop Pathan into a full-fledged bowling all-rounder. Back in 2005, he opened the batting for India on different occasions and scored 93 runs in a Test match against Sri Lanka. He amassed 80-plus scores three times in the duration of four Tests against Lanka and Pakistan.
He was dropped from both ODI and Test squad by the end of 2006 and couldn’t find a place in the team in 2007. However, he got a call-up for the 2007 T20 WC, where he stunned people again. During India’s final against Pakistan in the same tournament, he took three wickets at a splendid economy of 4.00 and was named as the player of the match. He was referred to as the “Blue-eyed boy” by the Indian media.
Beyond Cricketing Career
Irfan Pathan announced his official retirement on January 4, 2020. He played his last IPL match in 2017 and went unsold in the three seasons that followed. He has picked 100 wickets and scored 1105 runs in the Test format. The all-rounder named 173 wickets and 1544 runs to his credit in ODIs. He also made an appearance on a TV dancing show in 2008. He is into commentary now and is fondly appreciated by fans for his commentating skills in IPL 2020. However, it goes without saying that India’s hero for many years did not get any proper farewell from the team.
