October 27 + Left Hander = Champion Cricketer

#4 Irfan Pathan

Irfan Khan Pathan born in Baroda in the year of 1984, played cricket for India in all the three formats. Irfan made his debut in the 2003 Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia, where he had an impressive outing in the 4th Test at Sydney, He picked up the wickets of Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist with his swing bowling that caught the eye of many.

He made his ODI debut in the VB One Day Triangular series that followed after. He made good contributions with the ball but couldn’t get the series win for his team.

Irfan Pathan had a good tour to Pakistan, where he was instrumental in India’s series wins against Pakistan in both the One-Day and Test Series. Under the leadership of Saurav Ganguly, Irfan was a regular member of Indian squad in both the formats.

In 2005, Greg Chappell was appointed as Coach of Indian Cricket Team, who saw huge potential in Irfan and promoted him to bat as an opener in the absence of Virender Sehwag. Although Irfan showed his potential with the bat every now and then, his bowling took a dent and his pace decreased.

He started to leak runs at a higher economy rate and was dropped from the ODI squad frequently. He struggled in 2006, although managed to pick up a hattrick against Pakistan in the third test at Karachi.

Pathan had a poor tour of West Indies in the year of 2006 under the leadership of Rahul Dravid. India lost the 5 match ODI series 4-1. He played the second test and was dropped thereafter for the remainder of the series.

However, things took a turn in the Inaugural T20 World Cup that was held in South Africa in the year of 2007. Pathan took crucial wickets at important junctures that helped India march their way to win the trophy.

Pathan served national duties for the next 12 months in all the formats. Although he didn’t set the stage on fire in the tour of Australia, he contributed with decent performance in the 3rd Test at Perth, which helped India win the test match amidst many controversies. Pathan did well in the triangular ODI series that followed and India went on to win the ODI series for the first time in Australia.

The left-hander suffered many injuries from 2008-2011 and hence was left out in many series. Irfan Pathan was recalled in the year of 2011 for home series against West Indies. He played only 1 game and picked up 1 wicket. He was selected for the ODI tri-series in Australia, where Irfan Pathan picked up 6 wickets at an average of 31.16.

Irfan had many ups and downs in his career and last played for India in the year of 2012 against Sri Lanka, where he had a good tournament which helped India win the ODI and T20I series. Pathan was part of many IPL teams such as Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Lions and Chennai Super Kings. He last played for Gujarat Lions in the 2017 edition of Indian Premier League but failed to make an impact.

Other than Cricket, Irfan Pathan has appeared in television for few shows and news debates. Currently, he is part of commentary panels on TV.