Irfan Pathan Interview: I am playing at my best, just want to keep doing that and things will fall in place

Irfan Pathan is back and knocking being a player who has always enjoyed enormous fan base and support. Whenever he has done well there have been immediate calls for his comeback and rightly so since more than form, injuries have kept him out of the Indian team. Irfan is once again up for the task; the ball is doing what he wants it to do and is creating enough trouble for the batsmen. Being promoted as the skipper for the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy probably did the trick. He ended the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets and the best of 5/13. He also played his part with the bat scoring 200 runs with an average of 40 striking at 152.67. His side Baroda finished second losing the finals to Suresh Raina’s UP team.

We not only saw a mature bowler who knew his strengths and limitations, who bowled himself in shorter spells and with certain plans but also a leader. He tested his options ahead of the season in the camp and shaped them to make the most of the resources that he had in hand.

He would have loved to finish the tournament at a high winning the final. But despite that Irfan sees a lot of positives emerging for him this season thus far and hopes that it serves the larger purpose. CricTracker got a chance to get the all-rounder share his insights and views on his game, team and more.

Your views about the current season, your fitness and performances for Baroda

My fitness has been very good and that has actually helped me play better cricket. I bowled 20-25 overs in each innings of the Ranji Trophy matches. That’s my fitness there. When you bowl 20-25 overs in an innings, you easily bowl about 40-45 overs in a match. I have been able to do that with my batting as well. For me it’s very important whatever is coming ahead of me I need to grab that opportunity and that is what cricket is about. I am really happy the way things have gone so far in terms of Ranji trophy, in terms of Mushtaq Ali. The rhythm has been good, the ball is swinging, the ball is coming out of my hand well so I am really happy with the way things are going and rather than dwelling on things I just want to keep performing well whenever and wherever I get a chance and for whichever team I am playing for. I am really happy with the way things are going and really happy with the way I am able to bowl and with my batting as well because batting has been real positive this season, the things I have been working on for the last couple of seasons and eventually it’s paying off.

The Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament went quite well for you as a player as well as a skipper, what was the goal you had set at the start?

When I and Jacob Martin the new coach, we got together we had three or four days ahead of the tournament we had a practice game before that we organized a couple of open net sessions and we identified the key players and how and when we can utilize them for the team. Though we had very little time to prepare but what Jacob and I had decided was that we wanted the team to together and gel well as a unit. We wanted to make sure that whatever little time we had we capitalize on it and luckily we were able to manage it pretty well and that is what showed through the tournament.

We saw you keep an over from your quota and opting to give the youngsters a chance to bowl in the death overs as well, what was the idea behind it?

The important thing is there are matches when I know the pitch is really nice and we can even chase down 15-20 runs extra and that is when I gave the youngsters a chance, because it is important for us to make sure they are ready for the big matches. With my experience even in the final when I saw Raina (Suresh Raina) was there and was batting well, in the last match and I knew the maximum I could go for was ten runs but if I give it to some other guy he might go for more so when required I decided to take the responsibility I did and when I though other guys need to be groomed I did so that is very important as a leader, I have to think about the team rather than just my game eventually its crucial how the team does, we wouldn’t have come to the final people would have not seen me play as much and same would have been the case with the other guys. When the team does well it is more beneficial for individuals than just individual performances.

With Irfan back in form with the bat and ball, the world is talking about you, everyone wants to see Irfan back in the team. How do you see the coming couple of months in your career?

It’s going to be really crucial; it’s really good a lot of positives are happening, really looking forward to 2016. I have really worked hard, have been through a lot and I don’t want to talk about the comeback but want to frame the story with my game, so have been working really-really hard and want to make sure I keep doing well and I am sure if I persist with it things are going to fall in place. I feel in a sound space at the moment mentally and physically and I am enjoying my game which is the most important thing and I know this is the time when I can do my best.

Ashish Nehra will be making a comeback during the T20 series in Australia; does that inspire you even more?

Yea that definitely inspires, when he can make a comeback at 36 I am just 31 and gives me lot of hope. I am really happy for him, he has been playing well. This also goes on to show that irrespective of age or other things if you are doing well it will get recognized, it’s a real positive for me. Also not just Nehra but I am really happy for Yuvi and Bhajji who are also making their comebacks, hope they do well.

It was just yesterday that we celebrated the 8^th anniversary of India’s famous Test win at Perth. You were the man making a comeback in that series and bagged the Man of the match award, take us through that game.

It was a crucial Test for us, more so for the events that transpired just around it. Things were said about us, that the team isn’t good enough to win, we wanted to make a statement with our performance and I am glad we could do it. The ball was swinging in that match and it was a lethal weapon for us, I was able to get rid of both the openers in the first innings and one of them in the second as well. Even with the bat, I scored some 70 odd runs in both the innings, being sent in as a night-watchman I was able to deal quite well with the new ball, it gave a lot of confidence. Then in the second innings as well I batted well and broke a crucial partnership from a stage where they were going for the chase. It is one of the highs of my career and I still vividly remember the moment when we won, I was jumping with joy and literally doing rounds jumping.

How do you rate your game at the moment?

I think I am at my best, with both the bat and the ball. I am able to get it to swing and have been batting well, had put in a lot of effort on my batting, to improve my hitting ability and focused a lot on my bottom hand and now I am able to hit the big shots at will so its all going quite well and will definitely just improve with time.

Tell us the best moment of your career thus far; you have had quite a few, from picking a hat-trick in the 1^st over of a Test to winning the man of the match in the World T20 final.

There have been quite a few moments, but the best of them all will be when I got my India cap for the first time. It certainly ranks right at the top. Then the man of the match award that I won in the final of the world T20, after that the hat-trick I got in the first over against Pakistan and of course the Perth Test. These are the four best moments thus far I believe.

Of late you have enjoyed more success in the shortest format and have been a T20 specialist sorts, have you given it a thought to go out and feature in the major T20 leagues going around?

Though I have done well in the shorter formats but also want to continue focusing on the four-day matches that we play, the Ranji games and the other tournaments, not just the limited overs matches but these are also important for me. At the moment I want to be here, play as much domestic cricket in my country as possible and do well for my team and work towards getting into the national squad which is the ultimate goal.

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