A highlights package of India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 evokes an unmistakable feeling of nostalgia. A 19-year-old Irfan Pathan runs in with a full crop of bouncing, wavy hair, and as a greenhorn in international cricket, his eager demeanour captures all the marvellous possibilities that could lie ahead. For Pathan, as well as for many of us, those were exciting times. The world represented, as John Denver sang in one of his hits: “All that we can be, not what we are.”
Eleven years on, it is jarring to hear Irfan talk about his role as a senior mentor in the Baroda first-class team. To be fair, he still retains that boyish enthusiasm that marked his early days, though the locks are no longer in full glory. Time has had its way with Irfan, much like the rest of us who are his peers in age. As a teenager, he had the world at his feet. Ideally, we should have lived vicariously through him far more than we actually did.
“If anyone (in the Baroda squad) needs a one-on-one talk, I am there. I can even give a lecture on life. There are guys like Hardik (Pandya), (Deepak) Hooda and Gagandeep (Singh) who are very young, and I make it a point to talk to them,” he says, after Baroda's drawn Ranji Trophy encounter against Karnataka at Mysuru recently.
ADVERTISEMENT
Now 30, Irfan is old enough to draw on past experiences to make his point. “You need to be very careful about what you talk within a group. You need to talk smart, not just keep talking. Only then will the young guys take your advice. Sometimes, you just take them out to dinner to create that sense of togetherness,” he says.
Unlike many of us, the passing of time hasn’t transformed him into a cynic. It would be natural to say that the all-rounder should have played far more than 29 Tests and 120 one-day internationals that he did, but Irfan prefers to talk about the joys of prowling the domestic circuit. The match at Mysuru was his 100th first-class fixture – a memorable occasion. “Playing for such a long time is quite satisfying.
I am the fifth cricketer from our State to play 100 matches. I have always maintained that if you play first-class cricket – the number of overs you bowl; bowling spell after spell — your game improves.”
ADVERTISEMENT
A few injury setbacks — put it down to the inevitable obstacles that pop up in life — has stalled his career on more than one occasion. Irfan played just three matches in the previous two seasons, and has only recently returned in full capacity. “Last season, I played as a batsman, but I missed bowling. When you play as a bowler, your body gets stronger.”
Since his return, reports emerged that he changed his bowling action — once the most fluent sight in fast bowling — one more time. It did not paint him in a particularly positive light, but Irfan is quick to dismiss the doubters. “I read that story somewhere. It doesn’t happen that way. You will never see a bowler retain his action throughout his career. I can’t recollect anyone who has done that. There will be some minute changes as you progress.” As he continues, a third person reference suggests that he is not quite like others. “I am not far away picking up a whole lot of wickets. We’re not far from seeing how Irfan Pathan can bowl.”
But what about the time, on that Australia tour, when we actually witnessed what “Irfan Pathan can bowl?” Why has it taken 11 years to go back to a winning hand that was already dealt? The jackpot was just around the corner, but for one reason or another, the big payout only came in instalments.
The silver lining, however, is that Irfan gives us a sense that there is hope yet. It is only natural to chase your dream, regardless of the stumbling blocks of the past. “Right now, I am not too far from playing for India again. But, I need to play more first-class games. I will get better. I feel good. It is time to look forward.”