20 Facts about Irfan Pathan - The undefined swing bowling genius

During his early days, Irfan Pathan was optimistically looked as the next great left-arm pacer bowlers of India. While he was very young in international cricket, he was seen as the successor of Kapil Dev because of his all-round abilities. He stole the limelight as a 19-year-old left-armer who cleaned bowled Adam Gilchrist with a reverse swinging yorker, it was a delivery for which he would be remembered for many years to come.

Many said that he was destined for an illustrious career. These were not hypothetical, he had shown the promise with his performances. Had his career not been marred with injuries, he would have certainly turned out to be one of the greats of the game just like his role model Wasim Akram.

1. Birth: 

Irfan Khan Pathan was born on 27th October 1984 in Baroda, Gujarat.

2. Background:

He is of Pashtun (Pathan) ancestry, belonging to the Pathan community in Gujarat.

3. Childhood memories:

Irfan and his elder brother Yusuf Pathan, would ride on a bicycle. Yusuf would sit pillion and force Irfan to ride the bicycle on their way to the cricket ground to practice during their childhood.

4. Keen cricketer:

Irfan’s parents wanted him to become an Islamic scholar but both the brothers took keen interest in cricket from a young age. Both would play inside the mosque where their father worked as muezzin (person who looks after cleanliness of the mosque).

5. Inspiration:

He says that he modelled his action by watching Pakistan great Wasim Akram.

6. First kit:

He was selected for Baroda Under-15 team in a national tournament. It was only then that the left-hander was finally presented with a full set of cricket equipment. Before that day, he was restricted to second-hand cricketing gear due to his family’s limited economic conditions.

7. International debut:

Irfan made his Test debut at a raw age of 19 against Australia at Adelaide Oval on December 12, 2003. During the same series, he also made his ODI debut at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on January 9, 2004.

8. Comparisons with the legend: 

Given his all-round abilities and skill in both the trades fans and pundits immediately began comparing him to the best Indian all-rounder, legend Kapil Dev.

9. A player for the future:

Following his impressive performances in 2004, Pathan was named ICC Emerging Player of the Year in 2004.

10. Galli ka spearhead:

One famous incident of Pathan’s career was when Javed Miandad, Pakistan’s coach had stated that Irfan is ‘Galli ka Spearhead’ and bowlers like him play in every street of Pakistan after comparisons of him and Wasim Akram gained some steam in the media.

The youngster gave a befitting reply to the Pakistani great. He took a hat-trick in the very next Test match in Karachi and became a nation wide sensation. His father, Mehboob Khan reportedly went to personally meet the legend after the match.

11. Famous hat-trick:

On January 29, 2006, Irfan became the second Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. He took wickets with the fourth, fifth and sixth delivery of the first over of the 2006 Karachi Test to leave Pakistan reeling at 0 for three.

12. Memorable performance:

After spending some time out of the national fold, he fought hard and made a comeback during the 2007 World T20, where he was the Man of the Match in the final against Pakistan and played a pivotal part in the team’s ultimate success.

13. Unique record:

He holds the world record for the double – 1000 runs and 100 wickets in the quickest time in an ODI career. He took 1059 days to achieve it.

14. ODI feats:

He is 8th in the list of all-time highest wicket-taker for India in ODIs. He is also the fastest Indian player to reach one hundred ODI wickets.

 15. Indian cricket’s lost talent:

Irfan Pathan, along with players such as Vinod Kambli and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, was included in the list of “India’s lost boys” by Shashi Tharoor. His international career has been marred by recurring injuries.

16. Charitable interests:

Irfan and his brother Yusuf would help their father in the mosque. Even before he went on the tour to Pakistan, he cleaned the water tank. After attaining success, he has continuously contributed towards charity, distributing alms for widows and children. He also donated his earnings from a reality show to a cricket foundation.

In 2007, both the brothers formed the Mahmood Pathan Charitable Trust, four years after Irfan made his Test debut.

17. Telly debut:

He was a contestant in the dance reality show “Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded” as the first wild card entry. He later walked out of the competition since he wanted to focus on cricket and upcoming Ranji Trophy.

18. Coaching centre:

‘The Cricket Academy of Pathans’ was jointly launched by Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan. The academy has tied up with former India coach Greg Chappell and Cameron Tradell as chief mentors.

19. County cricket:

Irfan also travelled to England to play a few games for Middlesex in 2005.

20. Major teams:

He plays for Baroda in Ranji Trophy. In the Indian Premier League, Pathan has played for several teams. He played for Kings XI Punjab from the inaugural edition till 2010. Later, he played for Delhi Daredevils from 2011 till 2013. In the year 2014, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was picked by Chennai Super Kings for the 2015 edition and was with the Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 and 2017 respectively.