Indian T20 specialist batsman Suresh Raina has heaped praise on his former teammate, Irfan Pathan. He has gone onto reveal that the former Indian cricketer was compared with the Pakistani legend Wasim Akram. This was owing to the success he got in the international circuit early in his career.
During a conversation between the two on the social media platform Instagram, the Chennai Super Kings batsman went down the memory lane. He spoke about the searing popularity of the left-handed all-rounder from Vadodara. He said, “Everybody used to compare you (Irfan) with Wasim Akram. The long and curly hair, almost like the brand ambassador of head and shoulders. When I came into the Indian side in 2005 you were already such a big name, very famous.”
Talking About Facts
In fact, Irfan, the younger of the two Pathan brothers who went onto represent India at the international level. He did so in both the longer and shorter formats of the game and had a meteoric rise to stardom. His ability to trouble the batsman by swinging the ball, coupled with his good looks, made it possible for the southpaw from Vadodara to earn a lot of rave reviews. His performances with the ball during the ODI tournament on the tour of Australia in 2002, which was his debut series, helped him cement a permanent place in the Indian Cricket Team.
During the tour of Pakistan in 2004, the left-arm pacer was picked for the Test series. He made his presence felt immediately with six wickets in his very first match. In the third test of the same series, Pathan picked up three wickets of the first three balls of the match. This made him the first-ever and the only cricketer to achieve this unique feat.
He, however, was criticized by the then Pakistan coach Javed Miandad. The Pakistani maestro had said that bowlers like Irfan Pathan could be found in any street of Pakistan. Speaking about the same, Suresh Raina reminisced, “I remember Javed Miandad saying something like bowlers like Pathan are there in every street of Pakistan. My father, I remember, reading that news, he did not like it at all.”
The Conclusion To This Huge Claim By Suresh Raina
Though he started off his career primarily as a bowler, Pathan went on to show that he is not a mug with the bat. His “pinch-hitting” abilities helped India to secure victories in a number of matches. So much so, that former Indian coach Greg Chappel took the risk of utilising the southpaw as an opener in a few matches. That ploy, however, did not work well. Pathan was reinstated in his role as the bowling all-rounder in the Indian team.
Pathan eventually hung up his boots in the year 2019. He made 29 appearances in Test, 120 in ODI’s and 24 T20I’s for India. The Vadodara all-rounder went on to pick up a total tally of 301 wickets. He also piled on 2649 runs in all formats of the game to show for his efforts. His contribution in the Indian cricket team’s triumph in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 is one of the most memorable achievements of his cricketing career.
