About to quit game, pacer gets dream debut in Ranji

Vadodara: Last year, he had made up his mind to quit cricket and take up a job to support his family that was financially in dire straits. But Shehzad Pathan’s family prompted him to continue with his game.
On Thursday, Pathan had a debut he always dreamt of. The right-arm pacer bagged five wickets in his debut Ranji game for Baroda against Bengal. He is only the second bowler from Baroda to get a fiver in his Ranji debut in three decades.
“I couldn’t believe that I got a fiver in my first Ranji tie. It still feels like a dream. Especially, because I had almost made up my mind to quit the sport,” Pathan told TOI.
The 27-year-old gritty bowler lost his father, the only earning member of his family, to Covid-19 in 2021.
“We were always a middle-class family but after my father died, life became tougher to make ends meet. My elder brother did take up the financial responsibility but it wasn’t enough,” said Pathan, who, besides his mother has an married elder sister and a younger brother in his family.
Also, the player was disenchanted as he wasn’t getting a break into the first class games despite giving a decent performance.
“I am already 27 and I have to shoulder some family responsibility. So, I decided to give cricket one last shot this season. Fortunately, I was picked up against Bengal and I delivered a good performance,” Pathan added. A native of Mehsana, Pathan took to cricket at a very young age as his father was very fond of the sport.
“I shifted to Vadodara about nine years ago for better cricketing opportunities and started playing in the U-19 teams. Injuries did mar my chances initially but I continued working on my physical strength and bowling performance,” the medium pacer revealed.
“Pathan is a very hard working player. He practices the game a lot and is focussed on his target. We have got a talented bowler in our squad now,” said Tushar Arothe, assistant Baroda Ranji coach. In the last three decades, apart from Pathan, Sagar Mangalorkar got a six-wicket haul for Baroda against Jammu and Kashmir in his Ranji debut in 2014.