I still have my dream alive to play for India: Irfan Pathan

I still have my dream alive to play for India: Irfan Pathan: Yes, the dream is still alive. The spirited leap and a fine finish; the in-swinging yorkers and the exceptional grip. Irfan Pathan is back with a bang. He has been phenomenal in this First class season which saw him claim 12 wickets and score over 90 runs in two matches. The 31-year-old finished with figures of 6-47 and scored 73 runs including a half-century for Baroda against Gujarat which was followed by 6-80 along with 18 runs against Punjab in the recent Ranji Trophy matches.

Irfan made it clear that he has returned to full fitness and is concentrating on the task at hand, that is, to pick wickets and get runs under his belt which will eventually catch the attention of the national selectors. “Every player who plays first class cricket dreams to play for India; that’s why I am in the Ranji Trophy. I still have my dream very much alive to play for India. I just want to keep my mouth shut and keep playing. My aim is to keep performing, keep improving, and keep doing the right thing,” Irfan told in an interview.

“If I perform, I am sure the people (selectors) who are there will notice. My performance will speak for me,” he said.

“I have got back to full fitness. Before the season I was preparing well and the best part was that I was fit from the start. All I needed was to perform really well, which I did against Gujarat. The pitch was slow and flat, but I got six wickets on that wicket and that gave me a lot of confidence,” he added

He has been the major architect for Baroda against Punjab during the recently concluded Ranji match.

“More because when you get wickets in a slow track by bowling someone out or a leg before wicket, that gives you a lot of confidence. I carried the confidence also against Punjab in my second match, took wickets and we won the match,” the left-arm seamer said.