Irfan Pathan talks about his technique, his transition from a pure bowler to a batting all-rounder, and about the mistake of consulting too many experts.
After a hectic workout at the National Cricket Academy, Irfan Pathan was aware that all eyes were on him as he made his way to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where his Corporate trophy team Air India (Red) were practising. In an interview with The Indian Express, Pathan talks about his technique, his transition from a pure bowler to a batting all-rounder, and about the mistake of consulting too many experts. Excerpts:
What's the latest on Irfan Pathan's comeback?
I was supposed to play Corporate trophy, but I just did a session with the trainers in NCA, and they wanted me to first strengthen my legs before I start playing again. Paul Close and Paul Chapman are here and they'll work with me for one or two weeks. I might miss the first two matches. So that's the latest but yes, but I'm pretty relaxed, feeling pretty fresh.
There's been a lot of debate about your technique, how you hold the ball and why it doesn't swing.
It's all got to do with performance. If someone starts the way I did and goes down in comparison, people are bound to talk. I might have done well compared to others, but if my performance is not as good as my first two years, people have to say something. Everyone bowls differently — Muralitharan bowls differently. If he hadn't taken that many wickets, people would've been saying he's not a conventional off-spinner, that he puts his wrist behind his elbow. But now people say he's doing so well because he's got a unique technique.
You consulted several experts for your bowling. Did that help?
When you think about it, you can say it proved detrimental. But at that time, I didn't realise it. Even now, I'm open to suggestions, but I'm much more confident about my bowling. In hindsight, I do think going to too many people affected my bowling, but I really wanted my performance to reach the level I started off with in international cricket. That's where it went wrong — trying to be too curious, to pinpoint how my hand comes and how my jump goes. But that phase is over.
There have been big comebacks this year — L Balaji and Ashish Nehra returned from career-threatening injuries — but is your comeback, where there are doubts about skill, more difficult?
In a way it is. But I'm in a really good place right now because I've done it before. After I got dropped I got a chance to play in the World T20, where I bowled reasonably well. But when I was dropped after the World Cup in the West Indies, I didn't even get a game for six months. Now I know things weren't in my control. If the team loses, someone has to suffer.
Your batting has often bailed India out. Have you ever considered being a batting all-rounder, with bowling secondary?
It's an option; it will take the pressure off my bowling. But I'm not ready for that transition right now. In a way, I am very stubborn about my bowling, and at 24, there is still a long way to go. It's an option that Gary Kirsten and I have spoken about. He says whatever he feels, and he told me to give it a thought. But right now, I'm going to be the way I am — a bowler who can bat.
You think you are out of favour because you lack the pace of Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan and RP Singh?
Pace was never my forte. There are quite a few international cricketers who don't bowl 90 mph but they still get wickets. I think it's more because there are other options available right now. My comeback might look difficult in the short-term, but people know who I am and that I have been there and done the job. The good thing about me is that my batting adds a few points.
You got your chances in between, but couldn't make them count. Why?
When was the last time Irfan Pathan played four ODIs in a row, or bowled his full quota of 10 overs in four consecutive games? It hasn't happened — for almost one-and-a-half years. What I'm saying is, if you allow a bowler to bowl more, you are going to bring his confidence up. I am not blaming anyone, neither the team management nor the selectors, I'm blaming myself. It's good I've got a break from international cricket, the attention will be away from me and I can train hard, play matches, and show what I am really capable of.
