Could've Been Best All-rounder India Ever Produced, Needed More Support From Teammates: Irfan Pathan

When Irfan Pathan burst on to the international scene as a 19-year-old, the world took notice. He could swing the ball both ways and bowl with pace. And he was hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket.

Then came a change in his batting as well, and on many occasions, he was the number three batsman for India, both in Tests and ODIs. But due to recurring spate of injuries, Pathan could never realise his true potential. He played his last match at 27, usually an age where players peak.

By his own admission, he could have been the best India all-rounder in ODIs.

“In terms of achievement, there could have been a lot more. I really believe that in One-Day Internationals I could have been the best all-rounder that India ever produced, I could have been. That didn’t happen because I didn’t play as much cricket as I could have because my last game for India was at the age of 27,” Pathan told Rediff.com.

“I think if you play till 35, things would have been better, but that’s gone, it’s done and dusted. Whatever matches I played, I played as a match-winner, I played as a guy who made the difference to the team. Even if I took one wicket - the first wicket for the match - that made a big impact on the team. Whatever innings I played with the bat, I played to make a difference.”

Pathan also talked about his changing roles in the team, and how it impacted his own performance. He also said that a little bit of more support from the players then, would have helped him more.

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“If you see the first 59 ODI matches that I played, I got to bowl with the new ball. And when you are the new ball bowler, you get the opportunity to bowl with the new ball as well as the old ball. Your aim, your mindset, your body language and your responsibility is to take wickets. But when you are bowling first change, your role changes as well, your role becomes defensive,” Irfan said.

“When you are bowling first change, when you are a defensive bowler according to your captain and coach, you have to play the role of containing the runs. You have to make sure that you don’t give away too many runs. So, if your role becomes different, then your numbers also become different as well.

“I actually feel that people from the team should have spoken about it. They should have said that, ‘Yes Irfan used to take wickets, but now we have given him a different role. We have given him the role of first change bowler and someone who can bat at No 7 or No 8, which is very much required in One-Day cricket right now.’

In his last match also, Pathan took five wickets in an encounter against Sri Lanka. And then was sidelined.

“If you look at the numbers, it suddenly started changing when I started bowling with the new ball again in 2012,” Pathan said. “When I came back into the Indian team, I took five wickets as well in my last match. I am not saying that I could only bowl with the new ball. No, I was ready to bowl with the old ball, I was ready to bowl with the new ball as well. But in a team game, when you have a different role, your numbers reflect differently.”