In the past, the Indian squad lacked quality pace-bowling all-rounders, therefore former cricket player Irfan Pathan was a godsend. Between 2004 and 2009, he was a fantastic addition to the team since he could bat at various locations and open the bowling. But as other players joined the national team, the Baroda cricketer lost his spot.
Irfan Pathan claimed that despite making important plays and supporting the team’s goals, he was cut from the Indian squad. Performances like his would have prevented the selectors from dropping anyone else for at least another year or so, the cricket player boldly asserted. He even attempted to contact Gary Kirsten, the head coach at the time, about not being included in the starting lineup, but he claimed that the response wasn’t adequate.
“I was dropped back in 2009 while we were in New Zealand. I had previously won matches in Sri Lanka with my brother, Yusuf Pathan. If someone else had been in our position, they wouldn’t have been fired for a year. That’s the scenario in which we had won. In an interview with The Lallantop, he stated, “We needed 60 runs from just 27–28 balls in that match against Sri Lanka, and we won it from there.”
“I missed the first, second, and third games in New Zealand because I was benched. Rain caused the fourth game to end in a tie. I also did not participate in the final match. I then questioned Gary, sir, about my dismissal. He could tell me what I needed to do better, but I wanted to know why I was excluded,” he continued.
These days, a team would be happy to select two all-around players: Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan claims that Kirsten informed him that he wasn’t solely in charge of choosing the squad or the final combination. Additionally, Irfan Pathan had to stay on the bench before being dropped entirely from the team since then captain MS Dhoni had the last say in selecting the final playing XI. Additionally, Irfan was informed that the club needed a batting all-rounder rather than a bowling all-rounder, which upset him.
“I got two reasons from Kirsten. “There are things that are out of my control,” he stated. That’s exactly what Gary said. He didn’t tell me whose hands it was in when I asked. Whose hands it was in, I already knew. The captain’s selection determines the playing XI. I won’t discuss the decision’s merits because each captain is free to manage the squad anyway he sees fit.
“They were searching for a batting all-rounder at No. 7,” was the second response. It’s fair to say that I was a bowling all-rounder and my brother was a batting one. Despite their differences, the team could only accommodate one of the two. People would gladly take both all-rounders these days if you asked them whether they were necessary,” Irfan Pathan said.
Notably, the former cricket player kept up his hard work on the domestic circuits and was granted a long rope in 2012. However, his lack of exceptional performances forced him to lose his place in the national team once more. Although he was a member of the winning Champions Trophy 2013 team, he did not participate in any games because Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ishant Sharma spearheaded the pace attack the entire time.
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