'Always wished to hit the pads' - Irfan Pathan shares insights behind art of swing bowling

Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan, who was renowned for his tremendous ability to swing the new ball, gave his insights on the art of swing bowling during a Q&A session with IPL broadcasters Star Sports. The former Indian cricketer is part of the experts' panel for the ongoing 16th edition of the IPL.

One of India's most gifted fast bowlers, Irfan Pathan, burst onto the scene because of his ability to move the new ball both ways. The talented left-arm pacer's swing-bowling ability was on full display during his sensational hat-trick against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006. He revealed the thought process behind his deliveries when a fan asked him to choose his favourite delivery between the inswinger and the outswinger.

"Inswingers or outswingers? What's your favourite, and which one is more difficult?" a fan named Ahan put forward his question via Twitter.

"Look, for me it was the inswingers as I always wished to hit the pad of the batters. It was really difficult for me to bowl the outswingers at the start of my career. So, I started to bowl cross seam, with the ball straightening after pitching rather than coming into the batter," Irfan explained while replying to the fan's question.

It was easier for me to bowl the inswinger: Irfan Pathan

The ex-cricketer further elaborated saying that it was really difficult for him to bowl the outswingers due to his side-on action, which generated counter-rotation. He also stated that the batters were often duped by his cross-seamed deliveries which went on with the angle rather than coming back into the batters, unlike his inswingers.

"The batters used to think that it was a big outswinger, but in truth, it was just the angle that confused the batters. It depends on the alignment of the bowlers. I had a side-on action with a slight counter rotation, so it was easier for me to bowl the inswinger in comparison to the outswinger," Pathan added.