Irfan Pathan retires from all forms of cricket

Mumbai, Jan 4:
All-rounder Irfan Pathan on Saturday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, ending an injury-ridden career that prevented him from realising his true potential.
The 35-year-old’s retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.
Before turning up for Jammu and Kashmir as a player cum mentor in 2018, Pathan played all his domestic cricket for Baroda.
Though he remains a non-playing mentor to the Jammu and Kashmir outfit, Irfan had not been playing over the past 12 months and did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool last month.
The left-arm seamer’s bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003. He was all of 19 back then.
He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.
It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene.
Pathan, who last played for India in October 2012, featured in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20 Internationals (172 runs and 28 wickets).
His India teammates were quick to congratulate him on social media.
“Wish you great 2nd inn my brother @IrfanPathan. What a champion bowler and a fighter on the field… God bless you brother. Lots of love,” tweeted Harbhajan.
Former India batsman VVS Laxman wrote: “Was such a joy to see #IrfanPathan evolve from a aspiring 17yr old cricketer when I first saw him into a mature International Cricketer. You can be very proud of what u have achieved not only as a cricketer but also in mentoring young cricketers from J&K. A very happy 2nd innings.
With his elder brother Yusuf, he made a rare sibling pair to represent India. ” (PTI)

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