I get nervous on small grounds: Yusuf Pathan

Over the years Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been one of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball. It is almost impossible to stop the hard-hitting batsman once he gets going and the opposition team is often left frustrated and out of ideas when the big man is batting.

Yusuf has so far not done anything special for his team in the tenth season of the Indian Premier League but would look to play a big inning against the Delhi Daredevils. Looking at the kind of batsman Yusuf is one could easily think that he would fancy his chances against the Delhi Daredevils at a relatively small Feroz Shah Kotla.

But much to the surprise of the fans, the player who has a strike rate of 146 in the Indian Premier League told in a conversation with Sunil Gavaskar during the match that he prefers batting on bigger grounds.

Yusuf quoted “I get nervous on small grounds. With long boundaries I know how far to hit.”

Yusuf earned his first T20 international cap against Pakistan in the final of the inaugural T20 world cup in Johannesburg in 2007. India lifted the title in style that day, defeating their arch rivals in an encounter that went down to the wire.

In the first edition of the Indian Premier League Yusuf played decently as he scored 435 runs at a strike rate of 179. But he really came into his own in the 2010 edition that included a knock of 100 runs off just 37 balls against the Mumbai Indians. Unfortunately, Yusuf’s heroics were not enough to see his franchise the Rajasthan royals past the finish line in that game.

However, he admitted that he would be playing a more calm and composed role for his current franchise the Kolkata Knight Riders and leave the task of hitting for others.

“My role has changed a bit.. Boundaries and sixes are for someone else to hit now. I can play my natural game if needed. and look to bat 20 overs if needed”