Irfan Pathan will come good for Gujarat Lions, says CEO

The Gujarat Lions franchise had a wonderful debut season last year in the Indian Premier League as they had topped the league table after the group stage. But this time they have been struggling to find their form as they are placed right at the bottom of the table after 7 games.

Gujarat’s bowling has been their major point of concern this season as they have found it difficult to pick up wickets. But they have been handed a boost ahead of their next match as Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been brought in by the franchise as West Indian player Dwayne Bravo pulled out of the tournament due to an injury.

However, Gujarat Lion’s chief executive Arvinder Singh feels that the all-rounder has the right amount of experience and the required talent to see the franchise out of trouble. He expects Irfan to perform and is confident that Gujarat can still make it to the top four.

“Irfan is a quality all-rounder perfectly fitting into our scheme of things. He’s not only popular but brings a lot to the table both in batting and bowling,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

“You can call him a veteran as he has played for a number of years. He’s been there, done that. He’s looking fully fit and all geared up. That shows his commitment, I’m sure he will deliver for us”

He also brought up the example of veteran Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra who is performing excellently for his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“Many also had written Ashish Nehra but see what he has done after the comeback. He’s much older to Irfan but look at his performance, not only for his franchise but to the Indian cricket team”

Arvinder has also heaped praises on skipper Suresh Raina who has come to form off late. But at the same time, he admitted that it is the bowling department which has let them down in the tenth season of the Indian Premier League.

“Raina is doing a fantastic job as captain. You have seen him leading from the front. It’s just that in our bowling we struggled. That is hurting us a little bit so far. We are unlucky with Bravo declared unfit. Obviously, these are guys who did very well for us last year”