Mumbai: All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.
The 35-year-old’s retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir. Before turning up for Jammu and Kashmir as a player cum mentor in 2018, Pathan played all his domestic cricket for Baroda.
Though he remains a non-playing mentor to the Jammu and Kashmir outfit, Irfan had not been playing over the past 12 months and did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool last month.
“Today, I am saying goodbye to cricket, about which I thought for day and night. I last represented India in 2012 and after that I tried hard. Today in 2020, a thing comes up on social media ‘make a comeback’, so I want to thank the fans, who never left me alone. It’s a time to start the next journey,” Irfan said at a Star Sports show.
The left-arm seamer’s bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003. He was all of 19 back then. He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev. It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene. Talking about his favourite moments, Irfan said getting the blue India cap easily sits on the top. “There were many moments. Definitely getting Hayden as my first wicket is there. But when I got the cap, that was a special moment. It is close to my heart.
“going to play for the country first time, getting the cap from a senior player or the captain, that was special moment for me,” he said. With his elder brother Yusuf, he made a rare sibling pair to represent India. Irfan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets). In the 2003-04 Test series in Australia, he bowled a sensational spell of reverse swing in Sydney, getting rid of two key players — Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist. (PTI)
