Irfan Pathan was happy to play any role for the team, reveals Greg Chappell
Australian legend and former Indian head coach Greg Chappell has praised Irfan Pathan as someone who was happy to play whatever role the team assigned to him. Irfan, having announced his retirement from the game last week, had clarified that blaming Chappell for his downfall was a cover-up.
Chappell had become a very controversial figure in Indian cricketing circles, particularly during the latter stages of his time as a coach and thereafter. However, the former India all-rounder, who called it quits on Saturday, soon clarified that his downfall was not to be pinned on Chappell. Instead, Pathan felt that the only time he got to bat up high in the order and prove his batting skills was when Chappel was coach and Rahul Dravid was the captain. The 71-year-old, who wanted the left-arm seamer to turn into a genuine all-rounder by giving him more responsibility, has responded with praise.
"Irfan was happy to play whatever role the team required. He was both courageous and selfless," Chappell told TOI from Brisbane on Monday.
"Irfan proved that he was a very capable all-rounder. Apart from what he did in limited-overs cricket, he very nearly scored a Test century (93 vs Sri Lanka at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi). His swing bowling was very good, with the highlight for me being his hat trick in the first over of a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi," Chappell added.
The Australian had a tumultuous two-year tenure as the coach of the Indian team that began in 2005 and ended in 2007, post the disastrous World Cup loss which saw India crash out in the very first round of the tournament.