Pandya & Pathan: The Tale of Two All-rounders

[putrevus]

Just before India’s tour of Australia in 2007-08, an Australian magazine asked me for profiles of the younger members of the squad. One of those featured was Irfan Pathan. A couple of months later, on a cross-country flight from Sydney to Perth, I was seated two seats away from him. A few minutes after we took off, I noticed that he was reading the magazine. A while later, he asked the journalist sitting across the aisle from him who had written the article. When that individual pointed to me, Pathan leaned over and asked me in a whisper: “How did you know?”
 

 

Feigning innocence, I replied: “Know what?” “About the bullying,” he said. “I can’t tell you that,” I told him. He kept staring at me, and I was compelled to ask him: “But it’s true, right?” He just turned away and settled back in his seat. No words were needed.

 

The incident I wrote about had taken place on the flight to the Caribbean in the summer of 2006. At the time, Pathan was one of the team’s emerging stars, someone who had enjoyed a stellar couple of seasons in both forms of the game. On that flight, one of the team’s seniors sledged him mercilessly. Nicknames like “Sir Garry” were the least of it. Much of what was said was not underpinned by humour, but by genuine malice and jealousy. Coincidence or not, Pathan was seldom the same player again.

 

It was impossible not to think of that episode on Sunday night, after India had clinched the ODI series against Australia in just three games. Soon after the game, Virat Kohli’s Twitter account had a video of him talking up Hardik Pandya as ‘the man of the moment’. They were laughing and bantering together as equals, with no sign of any hierarchy in sight. When people talk of the success of this Indian team, and individuals like Pandya, that one huge factor should not be overlooked.

Pandya’s all-round excellence – he followed up a spell of 1 for 58 which included an off-cutter that castled David Warner with a blistering 72-ball 78 – came exactly ten years on from one of Pathan’s last defining performances. When people think of the inaugural World Twenty20 final, they invariably summon up Gautam Gambhir’s punchy 75, MS Dhoni’s Joginder Sharma gamble and the Misbah-ul-Haq miscue to Sreesanth. But it was Pathan that broke the back of the innings with the wickets of Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi (first ball) and Yasir Arafat.

He finished with 3 for 16 from his four overs that night. A few months later, and just a few days on from that airplane conversation, he scored 28 and 46 and took five wickets to be Man of the Match in the most praiseworthy away victory in India’s Test history. He would play only two more matches before the curtain came down on his Test career. He last wore the blue limited-overs kit nearly five years ago.

Issues with fitness, his action and personal problems also played a part in Pathan’s decline, but there can be no denying that the dressing-room environment was often toxic, especially in the years when Greg Chappell was coach. Those the coach promoted often became targets for the others, so much so that some of them preferred to airbrush that period from their memories.

Contrast that with the confidence that Pandya shows, on and off the field. His first-class resume may not have had much to commend him, but his grasping of the IPL nettle showed that he wasn’t fazed by the big occasions. That belief in his ability has been translated to the international arena. In a crunch game at the World Twenty20 in 2016, it was Pandya that MS Dhoni trusted with the final over against Bangladesh. After starting poorly, he held his nerve while the batsmen lost theirs.

On Test debut, he smacked a run-a-ball half-century to hasten India’s declaration in Galle. In Pallekele, he smashed a magnificent maiden hundred, including 26 runs in an over off Malinda Pushpakumara. Twice in three games against Australia, his all-round ability has come to the fore in Indian wins.

Pathan, who often took the new ball in his 29 Tests, was the better bowler, especially when it swung, and a technically correct batsman who batted at seven different positions in the order. Pandya, promoted to No.4 on Sunday in Indore, could be similarly valuable with the bat given how cleanly he strikes the ball down the ground. He’s a dynamic batsman who will always ask questions of the bowlers, instead of being a sitting target for them.

Whether his bowling is good enough for the third-seamer’s role away from the subcontinent is still up for debate. But he has improved with every outing, and has shown he has the ability to incorporate variations to complement his lively pace.

The key difference between him and Pathan is off the field. In Kohli and Ravi Shastri, whose idea it was to send him up to No.4 to target the spin of Ashton Agar, Pandya has the backing of those that matter most. They will not give up on him after a couple of bad games, just as they didn’t close the door on Shikhar Dhawan after a poor run last year.

It makes you wonder just how good Pathan might have been in this kind of ecosystem.

 

http://www.news18.com/cricketnext/news/pandya-pathan-the-tale-of-two-all-rounders-1527485.html

 

Who must be the senior who bullied Irfan but the author is right Irfan when he started had more ability with ball and was more technically correct batsmen.He might not have the hitting ability of Pandya.

[sandeep]

This is an article filled with bullshit.  

 

Irfan faded away due to injuries, and got more than his share of chances because of the type of player he was - a 'pace' bowler who could bat - a rarity at all times in India.   He made some poor training choices in attempting to increase his pace, and lost his swing in the process.   Can't be blamed for that.  But after 2010, he made a strategic choice to give low priority to first class cricket in an attempt to preserve his body and maximize his IPL earnings.   I was a huge Irfan fan and have a soft corner for the guy.  But you can't blame "toxic dressing room" for Irfan's fade.   That's mostly on his own head.  

[tweaker]

The senior maybe Yuvraj

[Shunya]

lol...masala article... not everyone can be sachin tendulkar or ms dhoni ...and most importantly not necessary that every cricketer has to be the greatest...ppl can fade away and make a mark in something else...big deal...unnecessary over analysis...if pandya starts failing on the away tours next, same ecosystem will become bad for these masala news ppl...

[Shunya]

9 minutes ago, tweaker said:

The senior maybe Yuvraj

Could be Veeru also...they all like to joke around and cross the line often...

[putrevus]

10 minutes ago, sandeep said:

This is an article filled with bullshit.  

 

Irfan faded away due to injuries, and got more than his share of chances because of the type of player he was - a 'pace' bowler who could bat - a rarity at all times in India.   He made some poor training choices in attempting to increase his pace, and lost his swing in the process.   Can't be blamed for that.  But after 2010, he made a strategic choice to give low priority to first class cricket in an attempt to preserve his body and maximize his IPL earnings.   I was a huge Irfan fan and have a soft corner for the guy.  But you can't blame "toxic dressing room" for Irfan's fade.   That's mostly on his own head.  

Blame or no blame but it would be interesting to know who it was. Dressing room does play a very important role in a player's development.You need to support youngsters coming in but if seniors become  jealous of any youngster's success it becomes very hard for youngsters coming in.

 

Pathan was never going to be next Akram but if he was playing today he would have had better chances to succeed as I don't think Fab four era was all about winning.

 

[maniac]

The mid 2000s to 2010s saw some of the greatest pool of young  talents emerging in the history of Indian cricket. 

 

Unfortunately there was also also a lot of mismanagement.

 

Pathan was a clear case of mismanagement probably the biggest one....the guy had natural talent,great technique with both bat and ball also his stats are still very good,he is still

what 32??? not old so he had so much to

offer....what a shame

[SK_IH]

in test cricket irfan was just a minnow basher,most of his wickets must be agnst bangladesh n zimbabwe

[rkt.india]

18 minutes ago, sandeep said:

This is an article filled with bullshit.  

 

Irfan faded away due to injuries, and got more than his share of chances because of the type of player he was - a 'pace' bowler who could bat - a rarity at all times in India.   He made some poor training choices in attempting to increase his pace, and lost his swing in the process.   Can't be blamed for that.  But after 2010, he made a strategic choice to give low priority to first class cricket in an attempt to preserve his body and maximize his IPL earnings.   I was a huge Irfan fan and have a soft corner for the guy.  But you can't blame "toxic dressing room" for Irfan's fade.   That's mostly on his own head.  

He never lost lost his swing. Even in 2006, about hat hatrick people really about was when he was already ind downfall in terms of pace after changing his bowling action and grip. He lost his pace, not swing. He still swings the ball in domestic cricket but pace is 120-125kph, max 130.

[sandeep]

7 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

He never lost lost his swing. Even in 2006, about hat hatrick people really about was when he was already ind downfall in terms of pace after changing his bowling action and grip. He lost his pace, not swing. He still swings the ball in domestic cricket but pace is 120-125kph, max 130.

There was a period around 2008 where he wasn't really swinging the ball.  He tinkered with his action and release, maybe as part of trying to bowl quicker, or trying to manage injuries.  Got it back when he reverted to his original action, but the pace has been on the low side since then.   To be fair, he has had a series of injuries that are all part of a fast bowler's career, but all clustered around at a critical time period for him.  Back, side-strain, etc.   But even his biggest fan cannot deny that he stopped caring for domestic cricket and prioritized IPL.   Can't hate the man for it - after all, he has to make the most money he can for his family.  But to whisper innuendos about bullying etc is BS.   All players face supporters and detractors over their career.  The good ones will rise to the top regardless.  

[sandeep]

12 minutes ago, SK_IH said:

in test cricket irfan was just a minnow basher,most of his wickets must be agnst bangladesh n zimbabwe

I wouldn't go that far.  He wasn't just a minnow basher.  Pathan could have been a very competent 3rd seamer or an allrounder for us.  But problem was there wasn't an established and consistent quality top 2 that we could count on.   Injuries held him back as well.  

[rkt.india]

35 minutes ago, sandeep said:

There was a period around 2008 where he wasn't really swinging the ball.  He tinkered with his action and release, maybe as part of trying to bowl quicker, or trying to manage injuries.  Got it back when he reverted to his original action, but the pace has been on the low side since then.   To be fair, he has had a series of injuries that are all part of a fast bowler's career, but all clustered around at a critical time period for him.  Back, side-strain, etc.   But even his biggest fan cannot deny that he stopped caring for domestic cricket and prioritized IPL.   Can't hate the man for it - after all, he has to make the most money he can for his family.  But to whisper innuendos about bullying etc is BS.   All players face supporters and detractors over their career.  The good ones will rise to the top regardless.  

He never reverted to his original action nor he ever lose his swing. He had to change action in 2005 due an injury and he never got his his original action back after that and then the problem of his grip the reason he had lost the pace.  He chaned his action from side on to semi-side on. He changed his grip to what Wasim Akram used to bowl with, crooked thumb grip, but that led to his loss in pace. You are talking about 2008, he swung the ball in Australia at Perth that India won and then again got injured after some time.

[SK_IH]

1 hour ago, sandeep said:

I wouldn't go that far.  He wasn't just a minnow basher.  Pathan could have been a very competent 3rd seamer or an allrounder for us.  But problem was there wasn't an established and consistent quality top 2 that we could count on.   Injuries held him back as well.  

not sure about a swing bowler being third seamer.also i said he was minnow basher because i never saw him bowl an exceptional spell apart from one may be in sydndey 2004 

one thing i used to dislike about him was constant chopping n changing of bowling action,kabhi swing kho jaati thi kabhi aa jaati thi

but yeah could have been a good limited overs package if stayed fit 

Edited September 25, 2017 by SK_IH

[nevada]

Irfan Pathan had the full backing of the captain and coach. So "lack of nurturing atmosphere" case is dead on arrival. One or two jealous seniors mouthing off nonsense could not have been the primary reason for his decline. It is a mixture of injuries, over zealous fitness regime, and over eager coach+ obedient captain making a top order batsman out of him sending him at 3 time after time that impacted his bowling. Even after all that has happened, he still has a career with notable highlights, as pointed out in the article. He may have underachieved, but is definitely not a failure. That being said, who could have been that nasty senior? 

Below is the list of the players who went to that tour. The seniors are Dravid, Kumble, Veeru, Yuvi, Bhaji. Among these, Bhajji is the prime suspect given his history of altercations with opponents, getting thrown out of national academy, slapping Sreesanth etc. Plus he was on Chapell's shite list. Veeru was on it too but as outspoken as he is, I doubt he would say harsh things to a juinior player. 

 

 

India 
Rahul Dravid c
M. S. Dhoni wk
Dinesh Karthik wk (Tests)
Ajit Agarkar (ODIs)
Harbhajan Singh
Mohammad Kaif
Anil Kumble (Tests)
Wasim Jaffer (Tests)
V. V. S. Laxman (Tests)
Munaf Patel
Irfan Pathan
Ramesh Powar
Suresh Raina
Sreesanth
Virender Sehwag
R. P. Singh (ODIs)
V. R. V. Singh (Tests)
Robin Uthappa (ODIs)
Venugopal Rao (ODIs)
Yuvraj Singh

Edited September 25, 2017 by nevada

[Nonbeliever]

3 hours ago, SK_IH said:

in test cricket irfan was just a minnow basher,most of his wickets must be agnst bangladesh n zimbabwe

 

[rkt.india]

1 minute ago, Nonbeliever said:

 

just a fluke. He was pathetic all tour along with Zaheer. Just got a good green pitch on that morning and Pakistani could not handle his 120KPH pies. 

[Nonbeliever]

2 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

just a fluke. He was pathetic all tour along with Zaheer. Just got a good green pitch on that morning and Pakistani could not handle his 120KPH pies. 

The guy had the talent. This video is to show just that.  Calling it a fluke is big disgrace.  Getting wickets at 120 is an achievement.

 

 

[Ankit_sharma03]

2 minutes ago, Nonbeliever said:

The guy had the talent. This video is to show just that.  Calling it a fluke is big disgrace.  Getting wickets at 120 is an achievement.

 

 

Once the early morning moisture was over, ball became a bit old the next 3 wkts came for 160 odd runs in both innings 

[Ankit_sharma03]

3 hours ago, putrevus said:

Just before India’s tour of Australia in 2007-08, an Australian magazine asked me for profiles of the younger members of the squad. One of those featured was Irfan Pathan. A couple of months later, on a cross-country flight from Sydney to Perth, I was seated two seats away from him. A few minutes after we took off, I noticed that he was reading the magazine. A while later, he asked the journalist sitting across the aisle from him who had written the article. When that individual pointed to me, Pathan leaned over and asked me in a whisper: “How did you know?”
 

 

Feigning innocence, I replied: “Know what?” “About the bullying,” he said. “I can’t tell you that,” I told him. He kept staring at me, and I was compelled to ask him: “But it’s true, right?” He just turned away and settled back in his seat. No words were needed.

 

The incident I wrote about had taken place on the flight to the Caribbean in the summer of 2006. At the time, Pathan was one of the team’s emerging stars, someone who had enjoyed a stellar couple of seasons in both forms of the game. On that flight, one of the team’s seniors sledged him mercilessly. Nicknames like “Sir Garry” were the least of it. Much of what was said was not underpinned by humour, but by genuine malice and jealousy. Coincidence or not, Pathan was seldom the same player again.

Looks like Irfan paid someone to write this as an excuse, by 2006 he already played 2 yrs of cricket and was already one of top names i dnt expect a player that settled wud be bullied that to in a dressing room controlled by chappell. Pathan was in Chappel good books he cud have gone to him in that case and chappell wud have been on that seniors case. 

There were rumors of being Dhoni being bullied in his earlier days and look were he is .......

I think i last him bowl in syed mushtaq ali game n his most deliveries were from 115-124k , now with that pace he wud never make to team. He shud stop making such excuse and putting such paid stories across and do some introspection. 

[Vilander]

oh booohoooo....

 

one senior player mocked him on a flight calling him sir garry and Pathan was seldom the same player again ?? lol...

 

and we need to believe this garbage ? come on..