James McKeown
Irfan Pathan....whats causing the decline????
November 23rd 2006 03:59
Irfan Pathan....the winner of the ICC emerging player of the year in 2004....but his victory till date was the hearts he had won all over the world with his charismatic performances and dedication....
[IMG]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c204/BW007/pathan11.jpg[/IMG]
India always had a dearth of good fast bowlers. Kapil Dev is without doubt a great player...a veteran of more than 120 test with 434 test wickets..no mean feat..but even he was a medium paces...Javagal Srinath came...he was India's stike bowler for quite some time...he was a good new ball bolwer but after him...India had no one..
Now during 2002...there was a game played on ESPN Star Sports called Super Selector...in this game..they talked about Indian domestic cricket and any promising bowlers or batsmen...It was during one of these shows that I had first heard of Irfan Pathan... a left arm fast bowler...he was described as..and my first reaction was..."Why the hell isnt India picking him?"
My wish was answered in the winter of 2003 when India toured Australia...This lad was picked....and after that I just remember one thing....he bowled a yorker to Adam Gilchrist that uprooted his leg stump...this delivery reminded me of Wasim Akram...the greatest swing bowler ever to have played the game and this sort of yorkers is uncommon among Indian bowlers.. I certainly dont remember an Indian fast bowler bowling an inswinging yorker.. I knew this lad had talent..and I knew this lad had a bright future.. He bowled very well in that series..the Indian team itself played fantastic...a 4 match test series at the start of which Mr Ravi Shastri had said he would say India have done well if they manage to lose 2-0 instead of 4-0. But an inspiring century from Ganguly in Brisbane had set the tone...it was levelled at 1-1.. What??? India DREW a test series against AUSTRALIA IN AUSTRALIA????? I dont remember the last time any touring team has acheived this feat...
Then they went on to create history by winning both the test and ODI series in Pakstan...That was Ganguly's Team India at its peak and Irfan Pathan was instrumental in that series win... He had developed into a fine new ball bowler...vicioulsy swinging the new ball and getting the flat footed Paki batsmen lbw or caught at slips... Then India lost against Australia at home but Irfan was still decent.. he had bowled well..
As usuall..he was already a superhero in India...the next Wasim Akram...he had shown glimpses of his batting against Australia and already people wanted him to be used more as an allrounder.. I winced at them because all I wanted was Irfan to develop into a match winning bowler...bowler quicker..and bowler better and develop into a genuine fast bowler...
A fast bowler's peak is between 22-25 when he probably bowls the quickest...
But then I saw something which disappointed me immensely...
BCCI Platinum Cup 2004
Pakistan vs India at Eden Gardens
India had piled up 285 and Pakistan were chasing.. Salman Butt had played well but had retired hurt and Inzamam and Youhana..the two stalwarts were batting.Inzy was struggling while Youhana had just arrived. Irfan had bowled well in that match and he was bowling to these two..
and then I saw him exchanging words with Inzy....Inzamam ul Haq...34 years of age...with over 10000 ODI runs and 7000 test runs...and here was Irfan...19 years of age..not even 50 tests old..hasnt even taken 100 test wickets..but is taunting Inzy because he was struggling a bit.... Now I am one of those who consider Sledging as part and parcel of the game..I enjoy sledging....I think it shows the passion and enthusiaism.... but...having said that...a new player like Irfan should respect a veteran like Inzamam... It doesnt suit Irfan to go and sledge Inzy....what has he done so far??? He was probably learning to add 2 2 when Inzy started playing cricket...and he hasnt even played cricket for a year and he is exchanging words with Inzy.... You have to reach the level of your opponent to sledge... If Anil Kumble did that..its perfect....suits him...He is on the level of Inzamam...he has played close to 110 tests and has over 500 test wickets to show against Inzy's 10000 runs...he can do that..NOT Irfan Pathan....he is a kid and Inzy is a senior player he should respect..As soon as I had seen that incident unfold on the TV screen...I told myself this boy would have a fall very soon because pride comes before a fall...
and it happened..his performances over the last 1 year has been laclustre at best..he has a hatrick to show against all the other lacklustre performances in Pakstan, against England, against West Indies and in the ICC Champions Trophy.... he has been very very disappointing with the ball...and then Mr Greg Chappell is obsessed with making an allrounder out of Irfan....and Irfan actually made an idiotic statement recently to defend that when he said his batting has helped his bowling...well the way he has been bowling recently..I wouldnt think he should prefer that kind of help....
Irfan Pathan is NOT Abdul Razzaq or Andrew Flintoff...he is NOT an allrounder.. yes he has half centuries in the subcontinent but then again scoring a 50 these days on subcontinent isnt really saying much...I am not saying he is a tail ender..he is much better than that..but he is still a bowler who can bat a bit and NOT an allrounder...
He is young..and he is immensely talented without doubt....he possesses a skill that very few fast bowlers have these days...the lateral movement he extracts off the pitch..RIght now he should only concentrate on bowling...and bowling quick...I dunno why his pace has declined so much...maybe he is not confident enough...he is not running in properly....but he should definitely try to bowl quicker and Dravid should persist with Irfan with the new ball..his weapon is swinging the new ball..He should NOT be used at number 3...there are batsmen in the team whose job is to score...Irfan's job is to take wickets and only that...
I am sure the criticism he has faced recently has helped him to face reality and broken the bubble...I hope he is able to use his talent properly and I hope he bowls well in South Africa because he is an important member of the side and India need him to deliver if they are to win the series there.. He is a special talent and for the sake of cricket...I want to see the old Irfan again...the Irfan swinging the ball and getting the wickets....
[IMG]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c204/BW007/pathan11.jpg[/IMG]
India always had a dearth of good fast bowlers. Kapil Dev is without doubt a great player...a veteran of more than 120 test with 434 test wickets..no mean feat..but even he was a medium paces...Javagal Srinath came...he was India's stike bowler for quite some time...he was a good new ball bolwer but after him...India had no one..
Now during 2002...there was a game played on ESPN Star Sports called Super Selector...in this game..they talked about Indian domestic cricket and any promising bowlers or batsmen...It was during one of these shows that I had first heard of Irfan Pathan... a left arm fast bowler...he was described as..and my first reaction was..."Why the hell isnt India picking him?"
My wish was answered in the winter of 2003 when India toured Australia...This lad was picked....and after that I just remember one thing....he bowled a yorker to Adam Gilchrist that uprooted his leg stump...this delivery reminded me of Wasim Akram...the greatest swing bowler ever to have played the game and this sort of yorkers is uncommon among Indian bowlers.. I certainly dont remember an Indian fast bowler bowling an inswinging yorker.. I knew this lad had talent..and I knew this lad had a bright future.. He bowled very well in that series..the Indian team itself played fantastic...a 4 match test series at the start of which Mr Ravi Shastri had said he would say India have done well if they manage to lose 2-0 instead of 4-0. But an inspiring century from Ganguly in Brisbane had set the tone...it was levelled at 1-1.. What??? India DREW a test series against AUSTRALIA IN AUSTRALIA????? I dont remember the last time any touring team has acheived this feat...
Then they went on to create history by winning both the test and ODI series in Pakstan...That was Ganguly's Team India at its peak and Irfan Pathan was instrumental in that series win... He had developed into a fine new ball bowler...vicioulsy swinging the new ball and getting the flat footed Paki batsmen lbw or caught at slips... Then India lost against Australia at home but Irfan was still decent.. he had bowled well..
As usuall..he was already a superhero in India...the next Wasim Akram...he had shown glimpses of his batting against Australia and already people wanted him to be used more as an allrounder.. I winced at them because all I wanted was Irfan to develop into a match winning bowler...bowler quicker..and bowler better and develop into a genuine fast bowler...
A fast bowler's peak is between 22-25 when he probably bowls the quickest...
But then I saw something which disappointed me immensely...
BCCI Platinum Cup 2004
Pakistan vs India at Eden Gardens
India had piled up 285 and Pakistan were chasing.. Salman Butt had played well but had retired hurt and Inzamam and Youhana..the two stalwarts were batting.Inzy was struggling while Youhana had just arrived. Irfan had bowled well in that match and he was bowling to these two..
and then I saw him exchanging words with Inzy....Inzamam ul Haq...34 years of age...with over 10000 ODI runs and 7000 test runs...and here was Irfan...19 years of age..not even 50 tests old..hasnt even taken 100 test wickets..but is taunting Inzy because he was struggling a bit.... Now I am one of those who consider Sledging as part and parcel of the game..I enjoy sledging....I think it shows the passion and enthusiaism.... but...having said that...a new player like Irfan should respect a veteran like Inzamam... It doesnt suit Irfan to go and sledge Inzy....what has he done so far??? He was probably learning to add 2 2 when Inzy started playing cricket...and he hasnt even played cricket for a year and he is exchanging words with Inzy.... You have to reach the level of your opponent to sledge... If Anil Kumble did that..its perfect....suits him...He is on the level of Inzamam...he has played close to 110 tests and has over 500 test wickets to show against Inzy's 10000 runs...he can do that..NOT Irfan Pathan....he is a kid and Inzy is a senior player he should respect..As soon as I had seen that incident unfold on the TV screen...I told myself this boy would have a fall very soon because pride comes before a fall...
and it happened..his performances over the last 1 year has been laclustre at best..he has a hatrick to show against all the other lacklustre performances in Pakstan, against England, against West Indies and in the ICC Champions Trophy.... he has been very very disappointing with the ball...and then Mr Greg Chappell is obsessed with making an allrounder out of Irfan....and Irfan actually made an idiotic statement recently to defend that when he said his batting has helped his bowling...well the way he has been bowling recently..I wouldnt think he should prefer that kind of help....
Irfan Pathan is NOT Abdul Razzaq or Andrew Flintoff...he is NOT an allrounder.. yes he has half centuries in the subcontinent but then again scoring a 50 these days on subcontinent isnt really saying much...I am not saying he is a tail ender..he is much better than that..but he is still a bowler who can bat a bit and NOT an allrounder...
He is young..and he is immensely talented without doubt....he possesses a skill that very few fast bowlers have these days...the lateral movement he extracts off the pitch..RIght now he should only concentrate on bowling...and bowling quick...I dunno why his pace has declined so much...maybe he is not confident enough...he is not running in properly....but he should definitely try to bowl quicker and Dravid should persist with Irfan with the new ball..his weapon is swinging the new ball..He should NOT be used at number 3...there are batsmen in the team whose job is to score...Irfan's job is to take wickets and only that...
I am sure the criticism he has faced recently has helped him to face reality and broken the bubble...I hope he is able to use his talent properly and I hope he bowls well in South Africa because he is an important member of the side and India need him to deliver if they are to win the series there.. He is a special talent and for the sake of cricket...I want to see the old Irfan again...the Irfan swinging the ball and getting the wickets....
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