Watch: Irfan Pathan shatter the stumps with an inswinger in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Leading Baroda in their opening T20 match against Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the India bowler Irfan Pathan tore the opposition apart in a four-over spell of 5/13. More than three years after he last wore an India jersey, the left-arm pacer reminded of the puzzle his career has been by bowling like a dream at the Reliance Cricket Stadium in Baroda on Saturday, mesmerizing the opposition batsmen to claim the five-for. Irfan made a grand return after being cold-shouldered during the opening rounds of this Ranji Trophy season and losing his IPL home following the suspension of Chennai Super Kings.

Irfan made a grand return after being cold-shouldered during the opening rounds of this Ranji Trophy season and losing his IPL home following the suspension of Chennai Super Kings.

The one ball he bowled in Baroda clearly indicated the fantastic rhythm with which Irfan was bowling. A perfect ball by a left-arm swing bowler to a right-handed batsman from over the wicket is the one that pitches around the off stump and swings back to go past the batsman’s defence and either strike him on the pads or rattle the stumps. The latter was applicable here as the batsman had no idea about the swinging delivery that cleaned him up. A gap between the bat and pad was wonderfully exploited by Irfan who stylishly enjoyed the wicket on a day where he could do no wrong.

A gap between the bat and pad was wonderfully exploited by Irfan who stylishly enjoyed the wicket on a day where he could do no wrong. On the other side of 30s now, once India’s best hope of replacing the irreplaceable Kapil Dev, Irfan, one many say, got lost between advices. Though, he may still have it in him to make a dramatic comeback to the national side if the ball in his hand continues to talk in the manner in which it did against Assam.

He has more than 1000 runs and 100 or more wickets in both ODIs (120) and Tests (29). Irfan has surely kept his fans and BCCI interested, even if slightly so, with this marvelous spell of swing bowling. Looking ahead, a continuous good show in this tournament could do two favours to the swing bowler’s fledgling career – earn a recall to India’s squad for World T20 and fetch a handsome amount at the February 6 IPL auction, both equally important in his bid to re-settle in the Indian team.

Watch: Irfan Pathan shatter the stumps with an inswinger in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy:

Not a bad delivery ;)#ontrack #fun #teambaroda

A post shared by Irfan Pathan (@irfanpathan_official) on Jan 4, 2016 at 12:43am PST