Irfan Pathan calls it a day from all forms of cricket
Irfan Pathan has hung up his boots from all forms of cricket, after having represented India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is, with a total of 301 international wickets. The former left-arm pacer had made his debut as a 19-year-old against Australia in 2003 and became a regular across formats.
One of the finest all-rounders India have produced, Irfan Pathan had been a part of many glorious moments in Indian cricketing history, having secured India's first-ever Test hat-trick in 2006 and grabbing a man of the match award in the 2007 World T20 winning finals. During a time, India had to grapple with Ashish Nehra's regular injury and Zaheer Khan's regular under-performance, Pathan's left-arm swing bowling was a foundation of success upon which many an Indian victory was established.
“I would like to thank my fans for supporting me through the thick and thins. I personally want to thank all my captains, including Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni who supported me through the various phases. Further, I would extend my thanks to all the captains I have played under in domestic cricket as well,” Pathan had said in an emotional video posted by Sportstar.
Making his international debut as a 19-year-old in India's historic 2003-04 tour of Australia, Pathan returned with disastrous bowling figures of 1 for 160 - with Matthew Hayden being his maiden international victim. However, he quickly rose to become a regular across formats in the Indian set-up and remained a vital cog for a major part of the 2000s.
Representing India in 29 Tests, Pathan averaged a cool 31.57 with the bat as well that has a century and six fifties. Nothing, however, transcends time as much as his all-round performance against Australia in Perth, where on the back of controversial SCG Test, Pathan won the Man of the Match award to guide India to a memorable win. He had last played an ODI in 2012, and after the 2018 IPL snub, he joined Star Sports as a commentator, while mentoring a group of talented players in Jammu and Kashmir as a playing mentor in domestic cricket.Â