The day-night Test has been a success: Irfan Pathan

The Pathan brothers were in Noida recently to play Baroda’s final Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh. Both the brothers were once considered strong components in the national team. The younger brother, Irfan, in his early days, stormed into the limelight with his ability to swing the ball prodigiously. The Test hattrick was the highlight of this period. On the other hand, Yusuf was known for his power hitting abilities with the bat.

The new stadium in Greater Noida hosted its first Ranji Trophy game. The left-arm seamer talking about the new stadium in an interview said, “The conditions here were great and the people really treated us well. But the best thing was that the ground and the facilities in Greater Noida were amazing. The crowd that came here was quite good as well – very enthusiastic and energetic. In several places, crowds tend to get carried away and say unnecessary things to players, but nothing of that sort happened here, which is a good sign. I had fun playing in Noida and I would want to come back here again.”

Noida fans certainly were high on enthusiasm as they were right behind Yusuf with their loud cheers. To this the explosive batsman had to say, “It felt great to see the fans’ love and appreciation here. If domestic cricket gets this kind of crowd all across the country, players will be motivated to play a lot better. Overall, the experience was great as both the crowd and the wicket were good.”

Irfan Pathan added about the stadium’s chances of hosting international matches as he said, “Well, the ground is top quality so Noida has that going for itself. Now, the eventual decision is with the state association and authorities, but yes, as a player, I really enjoyed playing here and the city can certainly host international games pretty soon. The ground is great and the pitches are good quality, too! The only thing they need to do is to increase the seating capacity at the stadium.”

When asked about their childhood days of backyard cricket in the Pathan household, the 31-year old said, “Fortunately, both of us liked to bowl as well as bat and used to fight over it, so we both ended up becoming all-rounders. Both of us managed to develop both the disciplines.”

Both the brothers also showed their full support to the idea of day-night Tests. The southpaw said, “The day-night Test has been a success there and whenever a new innovation in cricket attains success, it spreads to all countries slowly. Just like T20 started in England and then gradually spread around the world. So, I’m sure that this will reach India as well. Now, how it will happen and what form it will take is up to the BCCI. But I really think day-night Test match is a real crowd-puller.”

Yusuf was in accordance with his brother as well as he added, “Obviously, it is a crowd-puller because it is something new for the fans. They might be able to catch games after work in the evenings this way. I would love to play in the format of the board decides to have such games in India.”

Video: An unplayable and one of the best yorkers by Irfan Pathan to Adam Gilchrist

Written by Jishnu Bhattacharyya