Irfan Pathan appointed the coach-cum-mentor of a new team ahead of 2018-19 season

Out-of-favour Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan is given a new role ahead of the 2018-19 domestic season. Irfan will be working with a new team this year as he parted ways with Baroda Cricket Association after 17 long years. He also sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play for another team from the Baroda Cricket Association earlier. Irfan decided to make this move after he was dropped from the Ranji team just after two games.

Further, he was also subsequently ignored by the team that took part in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament. Baroda replaced Pathan with Deepak Hooda as the captain in both the Ranji as well as the T20 team back then. The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) on Friday appointed Irfan as the coach-cum-mentor of its senior stateside for the 2018-19 season.

Irfan Pathan begins a new journey with JKCA

JKCA CEO Aashiq Bukhari seemed to be happy with Irfan Pathan appointed as the coach-cum-mentor. Aashiq stated that Irfan Pathan will take this role for a period of one year. “He will be the coach-cum-mentor of our team for a period of one year,” said Aashiq Bukhari.

The 33-year-old Pathan played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20 Internationals for India. Pathan represented India between 2003 and 2012. Irfan is struggling to make his way back to the national team ever since then. Pathan was captain of Baroda for the past two domestic seasons before he was replaced by Hooda. Also, he featured irregularly for Baroda over the last couple of seasons.

Irfan Pathan also visited the Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium after his appointment for the new role. On his arrival, the younger Pathan spoke to the youngsters and gave them some valuable pieces of advice. It is learned that Irfan told them to work hard on their game in order to reach the next level.

Irfan talked exclusively to CricTracker in a first after taking up the role: