10 Indian pacers who faded into obscurity

#1 Irfan Pathan

With 100 wickets in both Tests and ODIs, a Test hat-trick to his name, a Man of the Match award in 2007 WorldT20 final and 1000+ runs in both formats, one wouldn't exactly like to believe Irfan Pathan's career as 'lost'.

But such has been the tale of this man who at one time was viewed as a successor to Kapil Dev.

Irfan was the find of the 2002 U-19 World Cup. Soon drafted into the national team for the 2003-04 tour of Australia, he made headlines with his swing and brisk pace troubling the big names in the Aussie line-up. He was India's spearhead on the tour of Pakistan in 2004 and wreaked havoc in Bangladesh with a 10-wicket haul at Dhaka.

As his batting improved, Irfan was being labelled as the next Kapil Dev. But fate had other plans for the Baroda lad. Injuries had their toll and Irfan started losing pace at an alarming rate. From late 130s he dropped to a mid 120s bowler.

Inconsistent with his bowling, Irfan's batting kept him in the national side for a while. By the time he was in his late 20s, he was in and out of the national team so many times that it looked like Pathan was a 35 year old veteran. He was termed as the pacer who learned how to bat but forgot how to bowl.

His form dropped after the Karachi hat-trick in 2006. He was sent back home midway from the tour of South Africa to focus on domestic cricket, but was included in the team for the 2007 World T20 when seniors decided to opt out of the tournament.

He played a big role in India's win in the final, where he took 3 wickets in his 4 overs for 16 runs. He was also the spearhead of India's famous victory at Perth, taking 5 wickets in the match and scoring important runs.

Later in the CB series too, he was instrumental in India winning the tournament with a host of other youngsters. But that would be the last anyone would remember of Irfan Pathan.

With injuries becoming more frequent, Irfan missed out on a lot of cricket in subsequent years. He had stints for various IPL sides but failed to make a mark on selectors' list. He missed out on the entire domestic season in 2010. A fine performance in the 2011-12 domestic season got him a national recall, but after a couple of series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, injury struck once more.

Irfan hasn't been on the selection radar since then. He hasn't had an eye-catching performance in Ranji or the IPL. As India were struggling to find a genuine fast bowling allrounder, Irfan failed to create an impact. With Hardik Pandya now easing into that role, a comeback looks tough for Irfan.

Also with the team now focussed on fitness more than ever, his injury ravaged history doesn't inspire attention. Almost 33 years old now, it would not be difficult to say that Irfan might have played his last for India. His potential shall forever be remained unfulfilled.

Career stats of Irfan Pathan