Irfan Pathan reveals ‘Only Regret’ after announcing retirement

Irfan Pathan announced retirement from all forms of Cricket on Saturday. In that way, He hanged the boots on a career which promised a lot but didn’t end up as his talent deserved. Nevertheless, Irfan gave many memories to cherish for team India fans.

I could have played more: Irfan Pathan

Speaking to the media, Irfan said that he has mixed feelings about his playing career. He added that most of the people start their career around 27-28 and play till 35 but mine was ended at the age of 28. “I could have played more for India” he said when asked on any regrets about his career.

Irfan praised current team management and said if that kind of support system was available during his playing days, his career would be more prolonged. He also gave the example of Wriddhiman Saha who recently made comeback to the national team after spending a whole year on the sidelines due to injury. He said these kind of comebacks only possible because of support of the team management.

A look back at illustrious career
Irfan Pathan caught the attention of the selectors during U19 Asia Cup in 2002 held at Pakistan. He took 9 wickets in a game against Bangladesh. This Baroda boy was straight away dragged into the National Setup for the tour of Australia in 2003-04. He made his test debut in 2003 and ended up taking 100 scalps in 29 matches. Cricket fans still recall his Hat-trick against Pakistan in the first over of the match in 2006 as finest display of swing bowling. He was Man of the Match in India’s victory at Perth in 2007-08 tour.

Irfan’s limited overs career also begun brightly. But later on, when team management started looking at him as potential all-rounder, his graph declined. According to him, he was not able to concentrate enough on his bowling. But according to many experts, major reason for his decline was lack of pace. His career highlight in limited overs cricket was his match winning performance in World T20 final in 2007 at Johannesburg against Pakistan.

Irfan Pathan is currently working as a mentor for J & K Cricket and as a Broadcaster across various platforms.