Virender Sehwag is my inspiration: Yusuf Pathan

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More... Virender Sehwag is my inspiration: Yusuf Pathan Mid-Day.com 25 January 2011 Two scintillating knocks in South Africa against a versatile pace attack have enhanced Yusuf Pathan's reputation as a destroyer. His 70-ball 105 against South Africa at Centurion on Sunday chipped away at the hosts' ODI series-winning joy. When Pathan landed in Mumbai late last evening, he was reluctant to talk about himself or the Centurion innings, but spoke to MiD DAY about who he gets his inspiration from. "The obvious answer to that is Sachin Tendulkar, but the daredevil approach has come from Virender Sehwag," said Pathan. Sehwag was not part of the ODI team in South Africa due to an injured shoulder. Reportedly, the dasher from Delhi visited Germany to get his shoulder treated. "I was always inspired by the way Viru kept backing his own game despite people talking about the so-called shortcomings in his batting," added Pathan. The Vadodara man was quick to remember his mentor -- late Bashir Shaikh in his hour of glory. "He would have been very happy to see me playing in the World Cup," he said. Sandhu's backing Very few people know that 1983 World Cupper Balwinder Singh Sandhu has also played a pivotal role in Pathan's development when the former swing bowler was coach of Baroda. "Initially, people in Baroda used to ridicule him. I watched him and sensed there was some special spark in his batting which reminded me of Sandeep Patil," said Sandhu, who is pleased that Pathan has given India an amazing option at No 7. "Trust me, along with Yuvraj, Yusuf is one batsman who can win matches from hopeless situations a la Kapil Dev's 175 in 1983," added Sandhu. Indeed, there will be more expectations after Pathan's South Africa show, but he is his usual bindaas self. "I don't think much about all that. The team expects me to win matches and I will try to do that always," he concluded.

[Sachinism]

NEW DELHI: The South Africa tour dispelled some myths about Yusuf Pathan. Yes, he can score outside the subcontinent too, and he can play the short ball as well. In a freewheeling chat with TOI, Yusuf provided insights into his approach to batting, Team India's confidence levels ahead of the World Cup and how younger brother Irfan always believed Yusuf could score runs outside India. Excerpts: You almost won the ODI series for India: I wish I could have won the last match. I was confident that we had the team to beat the South Africans but somehow it didn't happen. But we have shown tremendous signs of progress in this series. Compared to the last couple of series we have played in South Africa, this was by far our best performance. An ODI series win would have been the perfect icing on the cake, but now we don't have time to think about what could have been. We have to move ahead and think about the World Cup. We are pleased with the way we fought in the series and now we hope to play in a similar fashion in the World Cup. You've surprised many cricket pundits with your batting exploits on bouncy SA pitches: Irfan always told me that with my kind of batting style, I could do well outside India. So, the confidence was there, thanks to my brother. Even when I was in and out of the Indian team, my family and brother stood by me. I like to fight and never give up till the last ball. What about the team's performance in the absence of some big batsmen? In South Africa, we didn't have the regular top three. When the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir return, our confidence levels will be higher. But without them, we still fought well against a top team in their home conditions. We all worked hard in our individual capacity. But the biggest input we got was from coach Gary Kirsten. He knows the conditions very well and that turned out to be of great help. The team management devised a lot of strategies and we stuck by them. You seem to have made a habit of showcasing your skills when chips are down: I've batted on several occasions in similar situations for my domestic and IPL teams. I've even won matches from losing positions for Baroda. At the international level, the century against New Zealand before the SA tour gave me a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish any of the matches in South Africa but I hope to do so in the World Cup. What about the pressures of playing World Cup matches at home? I think it's my job to bat till we reach the finish line. I don't think much about pressure. You get nothing out of putting pressure on your mind. You should believe in your natural ability and the strength given to you by God and the rest will follow. My job for Team India is to play without complicating things. The situation is best explained when a cricketer is compared to a boxer who needs to keep using his hand to defend himself without thinking too much about the pressures and surrounding. I always play my cricket like that. As far as the World Cup pressure is concerned, we expect the fans to support us both during the good and bad times. Their encouragement is needed most when we lose a match. That really helps us to get back the confidence. I'm sure the Indian public will be behind us all the time.

[zen]

YP appears to be ready for the big stage! .... If he gets going in the KO games, then it will be difficult to stop India :two_thumbs_up:

[achilles]

I think Yusuf is a shadow of Viru.

[pakeeza1990]

fantastic statement of pathan i like it

[Chaos]

damn...whadda playa

[Guest Dreamgirl]

liked

[Roshanrocks]

Yusuf Pathan : The making of a marauder

The making of a marauder Tariq Engineer January 29, 2011 Analysis : You have got to fear Yusuf Pathan It's easy to find Yusuf Pathan's house in Vadodara. All you have to do is tell the nearest taxi or rickshaw driver to take you there. No address required, just his name is enough. Along the way the driver is also likely to let you know that Yusuf is the kind of player who can take any bowling attack apart, anywhere in the world - an assertion that those who have watched Yusuf's last few innings would be hard-pressed to deny. I met Yusuf at his family home a couple days before he was due to leave for South Africa. He was dressed in a dark green kurta and sat on a wooden swing in a small rectangular garden running alongside the driveway. He exuded a quiet confidence, and for a big man with a violent game, was very soft-spoken. He grew up playing cricket with his half-brother Irfan. The two boys would play in the mosque where their father is an Imam, taking turns bowling and batting, but people complained they made too much noise. So they moved to the street, playing with a tennis ball, before they joined the Baroda Sports Club and found themselves under the tutelage of Mehendi Sheikh and Bashir Sheikh. From there they quickly moved on to age-group cricket and continued up the ladder to first-class cricket. Along the way they received plenty of encouragement from senior players such as Jacob Martin and Connor Williams. "They would keep telling us to keep practising hard, keep putting in the effort and that one day you will play for India," Yusuf said. "So we kept working and now we are playing for India." Bashir died in 2002, and to this day Mehendi remains one of the few people that Yusuf will listen to about cricket. Snehal Parekh, the secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association, says Yusuf is the kind of player who has his own inner circle and does not take kindly to anyone outside that trusted group giving him advice. "You can't guide them," he says. "You can't tell them much. They have they have their own friends and one or two mentors." Pinal Shah, Baroda's 23-year-old captain, agrees with that assessment, saying, "Yusuf is very aggressive in his approach to the game and not only in his batting. He can lift the team with his performance. But you have to handle him well; he needs a lot of independence. But I can still go and tell him, 'Yusuf bhai, so-and-so needs to be done'." One person with whom Yusuf does talk cricket all the time is Irfan. The brothers share a close bond and are constantly encouraging each other. "It is beneficial to both of us to share our thoughts on the game," Yusuf said. He says Irfan always told him he would do well in South Africa and Australia "because the bounce is good and the ball comes on to the bat well. So there I can play my strokes". He certainly did that in the recent ODI series against South Africa, making a match-winning 59 in third game before uncorking a vicious hundred in Centurion that almost stole the game and series from South Africa. "I never have any doubts," Yusuf said that day in the garden. "I know what I can do. The team also knows that if I am still at the wicket, then I can win the game." It is why he also dismisses those who question his ability to handle the short ball. Prior to the tour there were reservations about his ability to handle such deliveries on hard pitches outside the subcontinent, especially since he prefers to commit to the front foot to take advantage of anything pitched up. For the time being at least, Yusuf has answered those questions. His approach in South Africa was simple: wait for anything that was in his zone and then club it to the boundary. He was hit on the body twice in Cape Town and once in Centurion, but he didn't let it bother him. Like a heavyweight boxer who doesn't need a jab because he has a devastating knockout punch, he waited for his opening. It proved to be a singularly effective strategy, as poor Lonwabo Tsotsobe can testify. In that Centurion game Yusuf hit him for two fours and two sixes in the same over, including one that was effectively a flick off his toes, yet the ball sailed over the long-on boundary. It was a sign that he is beginning to make the most of his strengths, which reflects his growing maturity as a cricketer. "With experience, he is getting better," Irfan said. "He is learning what to do and what not to do. He knows that even if he waits for two balls, the third ball will give him a chance to hit it. That is how he practises as well. He goes in the nets and makes sure to be aggressive." That aggression is Yusuf's hallmark, and the reason his aura will always be greater than his numbers. He may get out cheaply but he can also grab the game by the scruff of its neck and leave the opposition wishing they had taken up a different sport. "He knows his game very well," Irfan said. "So even if he gets out playing a shot, he will continue to play his shots in the next game. Some batsmen play defensive shots and get out, but that doesn't mean they don't play defensive shots in the next game. If he [Yusuf] thinks he can hit the ball, he will hit the ball. And more often than not he is successful." While Yusuf can make decimating an attack look easy, what people don't see is how hard he works on his craft. He often spends hours practising at the Baroda Sports Club. After Baroda had eliminated Railways in the quarter-final of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of a first-innings lead, Yusuf stayed on the field and asked the groundsmen to put the nets up on the same pitch. "He was taking batting practice for an hour," Parekh said. "He is very focused." Parekh, who is the only man to have made a first-class hundred on debut for Baroda, said three years ago the association decided Yusuf was ready for more responsibility and made him the vice-captain of the side. "What I told him was, 'You should be ready for the match as if you were the captain, as Jacob Martin (then Baroda captain), could get injured and leave the ground and you have to be ready. Be involved in the game.'" He believes the leadership role has spurred Yusuf to mature and show a willingness to take responsibility for his team's performance; a willingness that is reflected in Yusuf's own comments about the season. "There was a need this year in the Baroda team because Irfan was not playing. As a senior player I needed to take more initiative. Everyone was watching. It is good that we have success and have gotten good results." Another influence on Yusuf's development has been Shane Warne, under whom he played for three years with the Rajasthan Royals. "He told me always when I am batting to play my shots," Yusuf said. "He would say, 'If you feel like the first ball is one you should hit, even if you get out on the first ball, if you feel you should play your shots from the first ball, play them. Don't worry about getting out.'" His epic 37-ball hundred against the Mumbai Indians in their opening game of the 2010 IPL is the direct result of that philosophy - an innings that Warne called the best he had ever seen. "That innings told me that we can win from anywhere," Yusuf said. "We lost that match, but the way I played - 100 from 37 balls - made it a contest. And I have played these kinds of knocks before. From positions of no hope, I have won matches. "Unfortunately I was run out. Otherwise we would have won that match. I guess the lesson is, when I have made a hundred and I'm batting well, I shouldn't leave the crease." The IPL turned out to be the perfect showcase for Yusuf's talents and, in his opinion, hastened his rise to the international ranks. "The way I performed in the IPL, I got a good platform. Because I was playing well in Ranji Trophy before that also, so probably it would have taken me longer to get here. The IPL gave me a name. It gave me a new identity." That identity was rewarded many times over when the Kolkata Knight Riders bought him for US$2.1 million in the 2011 player auction earlier this year. Success in the IPL, however, has not dimmed or muddled his ambitions one iota. Yusuf wants to play for India in all three forms of the game. "Everyone who plays cricket, their goals are to play the highest standard of cricket and all formats of cricket. Obviously those are my goals also. I want to play everything." He says he is comfortable batting in whatever position in the order the team needs him to bat in, because "I have come to understand that whatever position I play, from there I can carry the innings or the team. I have won many matches that way." It might sound arrogant to say, but for Yusuf it is merely a self-evident truth. Not that it has always been smooth sailing for him. He made his ODI debut in 2008, but lost his place in the side in late 2009 after some mediocre performances. Here too his innate self-belief stood him in good stead and helped him keep things in perspective. "These things happen. Sometimes people are dropped. Sometimes people are in the team. Sometimes you do well. Sometimes you don't do so well. These things go on happening in a cricketer's life, so you can't think something is wrong. You just have to keep putting in the effort and things will take care of themselves." Yusuf's other advantage is his offspin. He has been working hard on his bowling, and this Ranji season took as many wickets, 24, as India offspinner R Ashwin did in the same number of matches, but with a significantly better average and strike rate: 17.75 and 37.70 to Ashwin's 24.20 and 54.50. If Yusuf can continue to develop his bowling to the point where he is a genuine wicket-taking allrounder, he will be that much more valuable to the team, especially in the shorter versions of the game. He is eager to play in the World Cup, saying he "will go mad if we win". He considers playing at home a big advantage and does not think the expectations of the fans will put added pressure on the team. "How can there be pressure when you are playing in front of your own people, who give you so much support?" I tell him what the rickshaw driver told me on the way over and for a moment he loosens up and lets out a big laugh. "Bring the driver in here. I'd like to meet him". He is careful not to take his fans for granted. After the interview is over Yusuf heads for namaaz, but stops to take pictures with two teenage boys who had been waiting outside his house. Off the field, he likes to keep a low profile. The high life is not for him. He prefers to stay at home and spend time with his family and friends ("I like family time"). He is also grateful for all the support he has received from the people around him. "My father, my mother, my friends, everyone supported us. It can't happen without family support. Nobody has ever said not to do this." The way he is going, nobody ever will.

Quite a long article on the Pathan, :yess: and a nice one too

[Akshat]

Can’t go into World Cup thinking about pressure: Pathan Explosive all-rounder Yusuf Pathan concedes that Indian cricketers would be under immense pressure during next month’s cricket World Cup in the sub-continent but that they will have to avoid thinking about expectations, if they are to deliver at the event. “You don’t go into a tournament thinking about the pressure involved with it. We will be playing the World Cup at home and it’s natural that people will expect us do wellâ€, he said. “We have prepared well and played some good cricket in the past few months and we are hopeful of carrying the good form in the event (starting February 19),†Pathan told PTI in an interview from Vadodara. The 28-year-old player has been in red-hot form and has clobbered the best in the business with minimum fuss. “I am happy that I have been able to contribute to the team’s cause. I have been assigned a specific role and I try to perform that to the best of my abilities,†he answered. Talk about outgoing coach Gary Kirsten and Yusuf’s voice is filled with admiration for the former South African opener - perhaps the most popular among the three foreigners (John Wright, Greg Chappell being the other two) who have coached India. “I have been fortunate to have got guidance from someone like Kirsten. He is a coach who will always have time for having one-on-one sessions after regular training. Even after my regular net session, Kirsten would be ready to give me extra practice. “His (Kirsten) process of coaching and the manner in which he is able to iron out the flaws is amazing. I have improved a lot as a player due to him,†he said. Asked if he will miss Kirsten as he won’t be coaching India after World Cup, Yusuf replied, “He is with us right now. That is important. Don’t want to think about what will happen later.†Asked which one of his two centuries (123 not out (96 balls) against New Zealand or 105 (70 balls) against South Africa at Centurion) is a better effort according to him, Yusuf said he would not pick between knocks which proved important for his team in different circumstances. “You can’t compare two innings which were played in two entirely different conditions. If you talk about satisfaction, it’s bound to be there if you can perform for your countryâ€, Yusuf said. “It’s not that there was more pressure on me when I was playing against South Africa and any lesser pressure when I played against New Zealand at home. Both were tough situations in their own right and I was fortunate that I scored in both,†he quipped. There are a lot of batsmen who use lighter bats when they play on bouncy tracks just to get the horizontal shots better but Yusuf doesn’t have any such preferences. “I play with the same bat whether it’s in India or abroad. More than the weight of the bat, it’s trying to adapt to the conditions that matters most,†said Yusuf who boasts of a strike-rate of above 115 in ODIs. Not only his explosive batting but his tidy off-breaks and penchant for being a partnership breaker will be important on the slow sub-continent pitches. Pathan says he is working hard to deliver with the ball as well. “I have always taken my bowling seriously and spent time on fine-tuning my skills at the nets. It’s the hours of hard work that I have put in that are paying dividends,†said Yusuf who has taken 30 wickets from 45 ODIs. As the discussion veered towards the Indian Premier League, he admitted that he would miss being part of Rajasthan Royals having represented the franchise in three previous seasons. “I will miss the fans that I had in Rajasthan. I had a great time playing here and it was like family. But having said that I am really excited about playing in Kolkata which will give me an opportunity to play in front of packed Eden Gardens crowd. It will definitely be a different experience which I will cherish,†Yusuf signed off. Link : http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article1133659.ece I like the attitude of this player. Recently he has delivered when the team was in trouble. Will he be able to deliver in crucial times during the world cup?

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'Give Yusuf the freedom even if he fails' More... 'Give Yusuf the freedom even if he fails' Sanjjeev K Samyal and N Ananthanaraynan, Hindustan Times Mumbai, January 30, 2011 He was the hero of India's semifinal and final victories in the 1983 World Cup. The nation looks back at Mohinder Amarnath's deeds with the same admiration 27 years later. Amarnath believes India's latest impact player, Yusuf Pathan, needs to be handled carefully and given all support to best out of the explosive lower order batsman and off spinner at the World Cup. Amarnath, who was awarded the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, spoke to HT: Do you agree that India is the favourite? This is the best one-day team we have ever had. If we can avoid the injuries then you can see this team winning. Fitness is the key, if you have injuries then it will affect the performance of the team. However, there are no favourites because you don't have the home advantage as other teams too are now used to playing in the subcontinent. Playing at home can put added pressure; if you are doing well it can be great but if you start losing, then the emotions can start running high. But we definitely have the team. The batting will rely heavily on Sehwag and Tendulkar. Once you have a good start then things become easier and we can take it from there. The key to the 1983 success was we had horses for courses. Does this team have such all round players? It's not important how big the names are in the shorter version of the game; you have to play well on that particular day. It's not that 11 best players will guarantee you a win because there is no second innings. This team has a lot of stars, and sometimes it can be a disadvantage too. Past performances are not important; the first game against a good team is the most crucial one. If you start winning the first few games then you carry that confidence. This is a golden opportunity for India as you can't have a better team than this even in the future. Dhoni has done well as a captain. The team is a great blend of experience and youth. The Tendulkar factor: For the last two years he has been playing his best cricket and what India needs is for him to carry his same form into the World Cup. Fitness is important in a tournament like the World Cup, which is more demanding. I hope there is no injury as if you miss one big game it can make a big difference. I would like Tendulkar to play his part and repeat the success of 1983. He's not played much ODI cricket. Will it affect his rhythm? Rhythm is not a problem as he is such a gifted player. The only concern is he should be injury free. Sometimes you can have a niggle and that can affect your performance. Whenever he plays well, India has done well. How do you look at Yusuf Pathan doing at this World Cup? He is an impact player, but when you have someone like Yusuf you should also be prepared for failure because it is very difficult to play in that fashion in each and every innings. But you need to have the patience and allow him to be a part of the eleven. You need a player like him, a big-hitter and a match-winner. Who would you like emulating your 1983 role in this World Cup? I would still like Tendulkar to be a leading player. He has done it and has everything going in his favour. If he can give the start he is capable of, India will be difficult to beat. How the game has changed? The planning has changed definitely, the fielding standard has improved. But again I think whatever planning you do, it won't make much difference on the field. Your mind is your best computer. It's a game of pressure, the one who handles it better, excels. How important will be the spin factor? In 1996, Sri Lanka won because their strength was spin and batting. Of course pace bowlers are there to play their part. Fielding will be very important because the outfields are very fast in India. And, in a crunch game fielding will play a very important part. How do you handle the pressure, expectations? They are a very experienced lot, they have been winning so far. Things are very different when you are winning, but once you start losing the reaction that comes (is tough to face.) But they have gone through it and can handle that. Especially given the huge demand from sponsors? You have to leave it to the individual. They know how important it is for the country, for their people and for themselves.

[zen]

I like the clear and simple thinking in this interview.

It's not important how big the names are in the shorter version of the game; you have to play well on that particular day. It's not that 11 best players will guarantee you a win because there is no second innings. This team has a lot of stars' date=' and sometimes it can be a disadvantage too. Past performances are not important; the first game against a good team is the most crucial one. If you start winning the first few games then you carry that confidence. This is a golden opportunity for India as you can't have a better team than this even in the future. Dhoni has done well as a captain. The team is a great blend of experience and youth.[/quote']

[vvvslaxman]

He could play the role that Kirti Azad used to play. Not a great bowler. But a useful slogger.

[cowboysfan]

well yusuf had a long run where he was a huge dissapoint.he was dropped and he came back stronger mentally while his shot making ability has remained intact.this shows that he may need so pushed and to guarantee his spot might not be a good idea.

[vvvslaxman]

well yusuf had a long run where he was a huge dissapoint.he was dropped and he came back stronger mentally while his shot making ability has remained intact.this shows that he may need so pushed and to guarantee his spot might not be a good idea.

When he played his first international he was a nervous wreck. Anybody would be nervous on debut. But Yusuf was extremely nervous. Seems like he is slowly shedding that nervousness. Still he won't be consistent which is a given. Not that prolonged failures should be tolerated. But we have to keep this in mind.

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Yusuf Pathan: Heart and a Resolve More... Heart and a Resolve Once labelled a one-stroke pony, Yusuf is fast changing perceptions with single-minded focus. He’s now India’s trump card in the World Cup Ehtesham Hasan Posted On Thursday, February 03, 2011 One of the enduring images of India’s recent one-day series against South Africa was Yusuf Pathan hitting Johan Botha for three consecutive sixes in the third one-day international at Cape Town. The blustery Cape Town weather was doing its bit, and Graeme Smith chose to bowl Botha with the wind behind his back. But neither the breeze nor the trajectory of the ball mattered as Yusuf unleashed his beast-like power. “Yeh Pathan ka kamaal hai,†was Yusuf’s tongue-in-cheek description of his pyrotechnics that had left Botha muttering a few unmentionables under his breath. The transformation in his overall game was remarkable given that he was billed as a one-stroke pony, suspect against the quicks, with a limited hitting area between mid-wicket and deep mid-wicket. But in South Africa he proved that notion wrong. His batting wagon-wheel has begun to resemble an umbrella. Batting manfully, he could hold his own against Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel too. You can’t but be moved when he reveals the way he prepared himself to face the 145 kph rockets in South Africa. “We don’t have a good bowling machine in Baroda and I would usually request my team-mates Ambati Rayudu and Rakesh Solanki to point out the flaws in my batting and ask other boys to give me throw downs,†he said. Key was to train well He is grateful to India’s bowling coach for the extended batting drills. “In South Africa, Eric Simmons (bowling coach) really worked hard with me. I would always bat for that extra 30-40 minutes after others would leave and that would allow me some undivided attention in which I could pick the coach’s brains,†Yusuf said. Yusuf admitted the reason behind him hitting the ball a lot better was because he made every net session count. “It was challenging for me to do well in South Africa and I really worked hard for it. Steyn and Morkel are very quick and to face them you really need to train well.†He describes his net routine: forty balls facing short-pitched deliveries, 20-30 on the backfoot and as many on the front-foot. Yet the change wouldn’t have hoved into view had he not got enough deliveries to play himself in. Not withstanding the two wins in the ODI series, India’s batting had been dismal. At number seven, Yusuf had to resurrect the innings. It would be different in Indian conditions where he had to collar the attack right away. More often than not, a breezy 15-ball 35 would suffice. He said, “I usually bat in situations where you have to attack the bowling right from the start. The reason why I have been able to make a sizeable contribution in my last few innings is because I’ve got some time to settle in. I was in a position to defend a few balls early in my innings to get set before going for my shots.†Is there a case of pushing him up the order occasionally? During the power-play, for instance. Meanwhile, he has had his captain beaming. MS Dhoni feels no target is beyond reach with Yusuf by his side. The man, however, is keeping his feet firmly grounded. No pressure You ask him if the pit in the hollow of his stomach stirs when he thinks about repeating his South African adventures in the forthcoming big-ticket event. All you can hear is the sound of deep breath. “I have only one approach to deal with pressure and that is my trust in Allah. After that I just let my natural instincts take over,†Yusuf said. “That doesn’t mean that I just sit back and relax. I’ve just returned from a batting session (on Tuesday evening). I strongly believe in preparing well before a series, a tournament or a game, and then leave the rest to God.â€

[Sid]

Yusuf this,Yusuf that,too much on Yusuf over the last month,give this guy a break,he hasnt even scored 700 runs in his career yet After all this hype and hoopla about him,I will not be surprised if he turns out to be a failure in WC