'You can play one IPL and get an entry into the Indian team' - Irfan Pathan reflects on IPL's impact on Indian cricket

The coveted Indian Premier League (IPL), ever since its inception in 2008, has stood out as the pinnacle of franchise cricket leagues, drawing the best players from all around and expansive global reach. Speaking to the co-founder of the Legends League Cricket, Raman Raheja, the same person who systematized the 180 Not Out series, former Indian cricketer, Irfan Pathan, had a brief chat with how the IPL has played a profound impact in terms of providing youngsters with a pedestal to gain access to donning the Indian jersey.

Dwelling on his own playing days, Pathan recounted that before making his way into the national setup for the first time in 2003, the roadmap to playing at the top level was to perform well in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. Otherwise, another only way to make an impact was to get shortlisted for India U-19  to unlock the door to the Indian team. Coming onto the blueprint now, Pathan remarked that there was no such ladder to climb as there was back in the day. Newbies could easily have a one-off or couple of good seasons in the IPL and be considered for infiltration into the much sought-after concoction of the Indian Cricket Team. 

"You know, if you want to play for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy, you know that time only one Indian team was there. No IPL. You had to play Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, or play for India U-19 and then go forward to the international level. That’s the only aim we had. Now, things have changed. During that time, you needed to go through stages to come up. Now what happens, is you can play one IPL, and get an entry into the Indian team," Pathan said during the 180 Not Out podcast.

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I’m glad I took that decision: Pathan

Furthermore, Irfan Pathan also narrated an interesting anecdote about his time post-retirement from the Ranji Trophy, which occurred in 2017. Speaking about mid-2019, Pathan was the first Indian to make the cut in the Caribbean Premier League, after he had enrolled himself to take part in the players' draft. However, it was never about the big bucks for the cricketer-turned-commentator, as he decided to forgo his CPL contract, as well as participate in other franchise leagues.

Instead joined the Jammu & Kashmir team as their coach-cum-mentor. Interestingly so, he was offered contracts promising to reward him five times more to play global white-ball leagues around the world as well. But he stayed loyal as he prioritized investing in the nurturing young talents of Indian cricket.

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"When I came to Jammu-Kashmir Cricket for two years, my contract was only 20% of the money I was leaving with the Carribean Premiere League, where I had a contract. I could’ve played for the Canada Premiere League, the T-10 League, I’m talking about 2018. It was never about the money, I wanted to give something back to the Indian team, and I’m glad I took that decision," Pathan added.