I am confident of making a comeback: Irfan

[saneindian]

if he is not injured, he should be asked to join the India A team or else the BCC should let him play the county matches. Wonder how he or Ishant or Sreesanth and RPS are gaining anything by not playing county cricket. BCCI said it wanted these bowlers to work on fitness and conditioning at NCA, but none of them seem to be at the NCA, which apparently doesn't have a proper chief bowling coach right now.

[saneindian]

One noticeable thing about that hat-trick was the speed of the three balls 0.1 was 73 mph 0.2 was 77 mph 0.3 was 78 mph Wish he could get that banana swing back. Getting a little leaner especially on the upper body could be the key to that.

[Fontaine]

IPL franchises have setup better coaching/infrastructure in just two years in India than the BCCI have in decades for our bowlers. Now I hear that the NCA doesn't even have a proper bowling coach. Awesome.

[Fontaine]

There's no point picking Irfan any more for shorter formats if he's going to bowl first change when the kookaburra ball loses it's seam. He's most effective in swinging conditions with the new ball.

[Lord]

There's no point picking Irfan any more for shorter formats if he's going to bowl first change when the kookaburra ball loses it's seam. He's most effective in swinging conditions with the new ball.

yes i think he can do the role that PK does nowadays,of swinging the new ball.he can still swing the new ball

[hari504504]

Look at that Aussie clip, his debut where he dismissed Hayden - INTENSITY !! - precisely what he is missing...nowadays he just ambles in and bowls..more like "I hope this doesn't get hit for a 6"...

[Fontaine]

@Lord: Except Praveen Kumar swings it both ways, Pathan can't. Praveen actually has control and accuracy in his bowling, Pathan doesn't. The ONLY advantage Pathan has is that his batting is better.

[hari504504]

@Lord: Except Praveen Kumar swings it both ways

GOD NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cantstop::haha:

[Roshanrocks]

He will be in the squad for the 2011 world cup... mark my words :isalute:

[lethal_raina]

Irfan still the best No. 7 for India The showpiece ODI event – ICC World Cup – doesn't have much territory left to reach its inaugural day and what we see is Munaf Patel getting an SOS from Dambulla to join the Indian team in wake of Ishant Sharma's injury and Zaheer Khan's absence. If that is the bench-strength of India 188 days from the World Cup, then Irfan Pathan is surely a pedigree apart and needs to be checked-in soon to join the Indian huddle. From being perceived as Kapil Dev's successor to not even being discussed in selection meetings, from taking a hat-trick in the first over of a Test to being sent home in the middle of a tour, from a Man-of-the-Match performance in the Twenty20 World Cup final to scoring a Test hundred and from being forgotten to be recalled to win a Test with all-round performance in Perth, Irfan Pathan has had an oscillating career like none other. The 'Baroda Express' – as he was christened by some – rammed into the Aussies Down Under to launch his international career in 2003. Though he had modest returns on debut, with just a solitary wicket against his name, India won the Test and a victorious launch pad did the speedster a world of good. Three years on, Irfan became Indian team's wonder kid. But that's when he discovered reaching the top is one thing, staying there another. His wicket-taking graph plummeted in 2006 and the banana swing dwindled to a vanishing point. Since then, Irfan has made on-and-off appearances for India, starting from the T20 World Cup in 2007, and has never been regarded an automatic pick for ODIs, let alone Test matches. But still India hasn't come across a talent that gets even close to Irfan's all-round abilities. Hopes were vested in Ravindra Jadeja who hasn't found his feet and has proven to be a square peg in a round hole. Of late - and that's very late – Abhimanyu Mithun showed all-round promise in the Test series against Sri Lanka. But banking on him for the World Cup would be like counting one's chickens before they are hatched. If Irfan has a rival, it's his own brother Yusuf. But even that's a big 'IF' as Yusuf goes into a slumber when playing for India and wakes up only once the IPL arrives. Moreover, Yusuf is a batting all-rounder, whereas India needs a bowling all-rounder. So this option gets annulled as well. True Irfan didn't deliver with the ball consistently every time he returned but is still the best to bowl seam up and use the long handle to good effect lower down the order. In fact, he is not a slogger and can be banked upon for useful 30s and 40s. It would have been ideal to give Irfan another chance in Sri Lanka, where he could have got his confidence back under favourable bowling conditions. But there are two other chances lined up, one against New Zealand and the other against Australia, at home. If Srikkanth and Co can do away with their myopic view about Irfan, he could well be the one to swing the World Cup in India's favour. http://cricketnext.in.com/news/irfan-still-the-best-no-7-for-india/49843-13.html

[Chandan]

Link Irfan Pathan is in Sydney (sent by the BCCI) for a "long standing injury". His CT scan, MRI reports and further investigations by Dr John Orchard (sports physician) revealed to the team physio (Paul Close), now holidaying in UK, suggest that Pathan needs to be in Sydney till September 11. His rehabilitation may lengthen his stay. Which long standing injury is suffering from and how how come the media is utterly clueless about it? Anyone has any idea what is this injury?

[someone]

Link Irfan Pathan is in Sydney (sent by the BCCI) for a "long standing injury". His CT scan, MRI reports and further investigations by Dr John Orchard (sports physician) revealed to the team physio (Paul Close), now holidaying in UK, suggest that Pathan needs to be in Sydney till September 11. His rehabilitation may lengthen his stay. Which long standing injury is suffering from and how how come the media is utterly clueless about it? Anyone has any idea what is this injury?

So basically the so called indian fans are absolutely clueless in blaming the selectors for not playing him.

[saneindian]

He will be in Sydney till Sept 11 and looking at the seriousness of the injury, he could very well be out for 6-8 weeks, which would mean him missing out on the Irani Trophy, Challenger Trophy and some of the matches of the Ranji Trophy. Looks really tough for him to get that spot in the WC squad unless he could do something extraordinary in the matches that he plays before the SA series.

[b555]

a virtual wc chance close for him

[punjabiplaya]

he should be given another fair run in the indian team,the indian A team should be where all the next indian players should be,he should be in the indian first team,his batting is excellent and hes a good bowler and with confidence hes a bonus for india... i really feel all international teams should make more of the Ateams its got to be good for world cricket especially seeing the hungry young players,and for them to be getting more exposure by playing all the best young players in the world!

[renjith12]

irfan pathan is a perfect all rounder. his talent is very famous. he taken a hat-trick aginst pakisthan. i think, in the present time he wants the indian team..

[vamos_rafa]

irfan pathan is a perfect all rounder. his talent is very famous. he taken a hat-trick aginst pakisthan. i think' date= in the present time he wants the indian team..

I think he definitely wants the Indian team,infact everyone wants the Indian team, but the question is how much the Indian team wants him i.e how much does he fit the bill. And I am afraid with his current bowling exploits and the injury have only hampered his chances.