Jasprit Bumrah is very special and deserves the spotlight, says Irfan Pathan

After removing Kraigg Brathwaite early, Bumrah switched to the Courtney Walsh end to take advantage of the breeze flowing across. Soon, his change found success as he nicked off Darren Bravo with an inswinger and trapped Shamarh Brooks in front in just the first ball. On a hat-trick, Bumrah delivered another full inswinger tailing into Roston Chase, but a half-hearted appeal and the umpire’s shake of the head seemed like it wasn’t to be for Bumrah.

However, skipper Virat Kohli, who has backed his bowlers to the fullest extent possible, went for the review which overturned the decision and put Bumrah alongside Harbhajan Singh and Pathan in the list of Indians with a Test hat-trick.  “I am really glad that Jasprit Bumrah has joined us in the hat-trick club. There is nothing better than someone like Bumrah achieving this feat. He is a very special bowler and deserves to enjoy the spotlight,” Pathan told TOI.

Pathan then took a stroll down memory lane to recapture his own special moment in Karachi, 13 years ago, when he picked up his hat-trick in the very first over of the Test match. "As far as memories of my hat-trick are concerned, it will be in my top-3 moments as an India cricketer for sure. I remember we had flat pitches in the two Test matches before my hat-trick in Karachi," said Pathan.

"All the bowlers, including Shoaib Akhtar, were getting hammered. So when we turned up in Karachi, it was a coldish morning and we were going to bowl first. I wanted to prove a point to myself. I had done well with the bat in the first two Tests and even saved a follow-on in the second Test with a score of 90. But I wanted to step up with the ball in Karachi. As soon as I bowled the first ball that morning, I knew that the ball was coming out perfectly,” he added. 

Pathan went on to describe each of his dismissals – Salman Butt, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf - who had fallen prey to the left-armer’s swing bowling.

“When I got the wicket of Salman Butt off the fourth ball, it felt like the ball was doing exactly what I wanted it to do. It was most important to get Younis Khan out. He was in tremendous form. The next wicket was Mohammad Yousuf. He was a great player for Pakistan, but I enjoyed bowling against him. The ball had so much curve, and he had no answer to it. I remember how Yuvraj took me on his shoulders and everyone was so happy to see me back to getting early wickets,” Pathan added.