Forced to waddle through practice sessions at rain-lashed Baroda, Yusuf Pathan finds himself getting a little bored these days. While spending most of the time with his family, the attacking batsman and all-rounder speaks to The Indian Express about itching to get back to competition, the still-rankling exit of India from the Twenty20 world championship, the challenges for the coming season and brother Irfan's exclusion from the Champions Trophy probables list. Excerpts:
Are you enjoying your break?
and#149;It's going fine. It's been long since I spent so many days with my family. But having a big gap is boring, you have nothing to do. You just go to training sessions and spend time with family.
You sound a little bored...
and#149;As I said, there is nothing much to do here. With continuous rainfall in Baroda, you can't have nets. I wake up and head straight to the gym for some cardio and weight-training. The rest of the time I spend at home. Sometimes I go to my farm and spend some time there.
What advice did you give to Irfan after his exclusion from the Champions Trophy probables list?
and#149;Nothing, we mostly talk on how to train ourselves. I always support him. I don't need to tell him that he is a good player. He knows what he has to do and if he does well he will be back in the team. He has done well in the past, scored runs and taken wickets.
Did you ever think that Irfan's career could take such a turn?
and#149;He started off brilliantly and has been a good cricketer, and he still is one. A cricketer's career is very uncertain, sometimes you are on a high, sometimes you slip a little. Lows and highs are part of every career, and you need to tackle them. If you are on a high you don't complain about it but when you are down, you need to work harder. It's a fresh start. If he keeps performing, then he will get his chance again.
So how are you preparing for the coming season?
and#149;With continuous rains I can't do much here. It's not possible to go and practise at the grounds. I have been taking a few knocks with the hanging ball. There is no indoor facility here at the moment, the association is planning to have one built, but it will take some time.
During the Twenty20 WC and the West Indies series, you were darting at that one spot, bowling the same line. Any reasons?
and#149;There is nothing to it, I was trying to do different things, you can call it variations. My role is to restrict runs and I'm doing that. In one dayers and T20 you can't give too much room to the batsman. They all want to go after you, so I decided to keep bowling at one length.
As an off-spinner were you trying to match Harbhajan Singh in the shorter version?
and#149;No way. Harbhajan is in a different class; he is a permanent off-spinner. I'm playing as an all-rounder and my role is different. He is a wicket-taker and I'm there to just stop the runs.
Do you think teams have started to read your batting better?
and#149;I had a decent Twenty20 world championships and the Windies tour. If your are playing so much cricket, it is obvious that teams will start working you out. They know if I'm strong at long-on and long-off they will pitch it short outside the off-stump or send in a bouncer. But as a batsman I'm ready to play strokes. If I have to hit, I will try to hit hard.
Do you think you have done justice to the expectations after IPL 1?
and#149;I haven't played much international cricket. It's been a short journey so far. I have a long way to go. I know there are big expectations from me, people trust me because they believe in me.
Were you expecting to open the innings at the T20 world cup?
and #149;Not really, Rohit (Sharma) had done well. Wherever my team want me to bat, I'm ready to do it.
