Irfan Pathan Opens Up On The Best Captain He Played Under, Snubs MS Dhoni
Published - 05 Jan 2020, 10:39 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan brought down curtains on his cricket career on Saturday. Having last played for India way back in October 2012, the Baroda legend decided to call it a day as he was not in frame for another recall from the national team.
Irfan Pathan made his international debut against Australia in Adelaide in 2003 and caught the attention of the world with his ability to swing the ball both ways. Pathan got the wicket of Matthew Hayden in his first outing as India went on to clinch a famous win.
In 2006, he became only the 2nd Indian bowler to pick up a Test hat-trick when he achieved the feat in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi. He also became the only bowler to pick up a hat-trick in the 1st over a Test match. Irfan Pathan was also the Man of the Match in the T20 World Cup final in 2007.
Best captain:
After starting his career under Sourav Ganguly, Irfan Pathan went on to play under the captaincy of the legendary trio – Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni. And when he was recently asked to name the best captain he played under, Irfan Pathan praised Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble.
But surprisingly, there was no mention of MS Dhoni as Pathan spoke glowingly of the other three captains while snubbing his last India captain. He also said that Dravid was the one who utilised him the best.
“I have enjoyed playing under all the captains. Sourav Ganguly was outstanding, he was very special. Everyone appreciated his captaincy and no fan will disagree that he managed the team well even in the toughest of times. He gave Indian cricket a direction and now we are benefiting from that,” Irfan Pathan told Sportstar.
But I guess Rahul Dravid was the one who utilised me the best. Not only my bowling, but my batting performances also improved under him. My batting average improved immensely and my average as a No. 3 batsman was 32. After Dravid, I never got a chance to bat up the order.
And I must admit Anil Kumble, too, was a fantastic captain. He handled the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal in 2008 very well. I don’t think many would have been able to handle it as well. We knew that pressure was mounting, but he took everyone along and ensured that we won the Test in Perth. It’s commendable,” he added.
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Irfan Pathan represented India in 29 Tests and picked up 100 wickets, with his best figures being 7/59. In ODIs, he picked up 173 wickets from 120 matches. His best figures are 5/27. In T20Is, he bagged 28 wickets from 24 matches.
In the IPL, he played for Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, Rising Pune Supergiant, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Lions. He picked up 80 wickets from 103 matches. In domestic cricket, he started his career with Baroda before moving to Jammu and Kashmir in 2018. In 122 first-class games, he scored over 4,500 runs and picked up 384 wickets.
