I know that I’m standing on thin ice, says Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan has said that time to make a comeback into the Indian side is running out fast

Veteran Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that time to make a comeback into the Indian side is running out fast but he is doing everything in his capacity to return to the side. Pathan, who is currently captaining, the Baroda team in the Ranji Trophy also admitted that the current season is going to be crucial for him.

In an interview with Cricinfo, Pathan said, “I started early this season and I’m doing everything that I could to hopefully achieve my dream in the future. This season is going to be very, very crucial. I know that I’m standing on thin ice.”

Recalling the period when he was playing cricket for the national side, but faced disappointment with an injury, Pathan said, “I was playing a Champions League game, the semi-final. We lost the game. The same night we took a flight [back to India]. A couple of days in between and I played a three-day game against England. Third day, the last day, I took a flight to Baroda. From the next day onwards, I played a Ranji Trophy game against Karnataka. I scored a hundred in that game, bowled more than 20 overs in an innings, so I played about nine days continuously.”

“My knee flared up and I got a fracture. So, in ten days I took an international flight, played a T20 game, came to India, I was still jet-lagged, played a three-day game, scored 45 against England, bowled more than 20-25 overs [19 overs], took a flight on the third day, played the Ranji Trophy whole game, and on the last day I got injured. Who plays that? No one plays seven days of continuous first-class cricket. So that was my commitment and eventually I got injured.”, he went on to say.

“That experience made me a person who sees the larger picture, and, you know, made me who I am. So there is no regret, but looking back in terms of, you know, when you said there [has not been much] first-class cricket – because of so many other reasons as well. It’s easy for someone to write that he played less first-class cricket.”, he concluded.