Irfan Pathan’s fall from grace has been one of the most disappointing stories in Indian cricket over the last decade.
Advertisement
For a glorious couple of years, Indian cricket thought that they had found their answer to Wasim Akram in a lanky left arm pace bowler in Irfan.
Then a youngster from Baroda, Pathan burst onto the screen as a new ball bowler in Australia, when he caused quite a stir by impressing against the mighty Aussies.
His aggression and attitude won many hearts, as Irfan Pathan was all set to take the cricketing world by storm. But unfortunately for him, the script did not go according to plan as a combination of injuries, lack of form and bad advice derailed his career.
Even though Irfan Pathan only played for four-five years for India, his contribution in that time was hugely important.
Between 2003 and 2008, Pathan was integral to India’s success. Australia 2003-04, Pakistan 2004, World T20 2007 and the CB Series 2008 all had P
athan firing for his team.
But now in 2018, Irfan Pathan could not even manage to land himself an IPL contract, as Pathan’s name did not even come up in the auction.
The Baroda all-rounder’s no-show was a shock to his fans, as his experience could have proven to be very useful in the IPL.
Pathan was not picked last year as well, which is why some people did not expect his name to come up.
Irfan was struggling with injury and inconsistency, as the all-rounder had a poor last six months in domestic cricket.
Pathan sent a message on Twitter, in what seemed like a bid to clam down his agitated fans. His popularity has not diminished with time, as Pathan still commands a huge legion of fans.
But good will can take you only so far, which is why Pathan must be hoping his luck changes in the near future.
At one point the next big thing, Irfan Pathan’s career has taken a terrible dip over the years. While a national team call-up may be beyond him at this point in time, maybe one last glorious IPL run could give his fans the farewell that they deserve.
