You should not be written off due to injury: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan has revealed that he is still optimistic of a return to the Indian national team and believed that he should not be written off after a few injuries. Not ruling out his India comeback chances, the former India speedster said that age is just a number for him.

In the early 2000s, Pathan burst onto the scene as a prodigious left arm fast bowler who drew comparisons with the Pakistani great Wasim Akram. His searing yorker to dismiss Adam Gilchrist still lingers in mind whenever his name pops up in cricketing discussions. Later, he honed his batting skills and placed his bet as a fast bowling all-rounder. However, it was the injury concerns that proved detrimental to his career for which he had to spend more times in rehab process than at the nets.

Indian cricket setup has been in search for the next big seam bowling all-rounder for quite a long time now. Stuart Binny in the past and Hardik Pandya at the moment have been some options which the Indian selectors have looked forward to in recent. The search is not over yet.

Binny was somewhat able to fill the space before Pandya broke into the scene. But, even the young Baroda all-rounder is yet to prove his capabilities. While all these swip – swaps are currently taking place, Irfan Pathan has been quietly working towards returning to his old best.

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In an exclusive chat with The Hindu, he said, “I am at that stage of my journey when I want to enjoy my cricket. I want to give more to the game, pass on my knowledge to the younger bunch. I want to play with the sort of freedom that only comes when you don’t put pressure on yourself.”

Suffering from a bout of viral fever, Irfan had to miss the Baroda’s Ranji Trophy encounter against Tamil Nadu.  But, he said that he is doing more training than before to keep himself fit.

“Previously I used to do weights. Now I am into hard running. I run two km at a stretch and time those runs. I feel much lighter, and I feel good about myself,” said the former India all-rounder.

He added, “I am in regular touch with Sekar sir. We have been working on loading up the ball close to the body. This way I will be able to swing the ball more from a smoother release.”

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Citing the examples of Australian pace bowlers, Irfan Pathan said that no pacer should be written off after some injuries. He says that he hasn’t given up his dream. “Age is only a number”.

“Injuries happen, particularly when you are a paceman. But you need to be looked after well and with sensitiveness. You should not be written off. Look at Australia. Their paceman keeps getting injured but they keep coming back.”

“Cricket has taught me so many things. I travelled around the world, saw different cultures and learnt to speak English which enabled me to communicate better. Above all, the game taught me to take different emotions in my stride. One has to stay grounded.”