Irfan Pathan - Back On The Fringes

Back On The Fringes

Following the IPL, Pathan resumed international duties in the Kitply Cup and the 2008 Asia Cup. He had an unproductive time with the ball; although he scored a total of 86 runs at 28.66, he took seven wickets at 51.42 at an economy rate of 6.56. Pathan was overlooked for the Tests in Sri Lanka but was called into the team for the one-dayers, but played in only three of the five fixtures. He took three wickets at 34.66, conceding 5.20 runs an over, and struggled with the bat, scoring 19 runs at 6.33 as the Indian batting collapsed in each match. He was then included in an India A team for a series of matches against touring counterparts from New Zealand and Australia. He had average results, taking four wickets at 43.75 and an economy rate of 4.86, and scored 56 runs at 18.66 in four games. He did better the Challenger Trophy, taking six wickets at 14.00 at an economy rate of 3.42, and scored 71 runs at 35.50 as India Blue won all three matches.

At the start of the first-class season, Pathan scored 56 but took a total of only 1/91 for the Board President's XI against the touring Australians ahead of the Test series, and he was overlooked for Test selection as India used only two pacemen. He returned to play for Baroda in the Ranji Trophy. He played in four matches and performed strongly, taking 26 wickets at 16.03 and scored 166 runs at 33.20. He started the season with 6/85 and 1/34 in a draw against Uttar Pradesh, and then took 4/42 and 1/46 against Railways. He then put on an all-round display to guide his team to a victory over Maharashtra. Pathan took 5/64 and then scored 51 as Baroda made 305 in their first innings to take a 77-run lead. After taking 1/61 in the second innings, he scored an unbeaten 50 to guide Baroda to their target of 227 with four wickets in hand. In his final Ranji fixture for the season, he took 7/35 in the first innings to help dismiss Andhra Pradesh for 77, setting up an innings win. However, with India persisting with and tasting success with their Test bowling strategy, Pathan was also overlooked for the home Tests against England. Pathan's domestic season was interrupted by spasmodic limited overs duty. Following his recent uneconomical run in ODIs, he was not given a game in the seven-match series against England in November until India had taken an unassailable 4–0 series lead. He took 0/57 from ten overs in the fifth match, as India recorded another victory, but did not get another opportunity after the Mumbai terrorist attacks saw the two remaining fixtures cancelled. Pathan was then selected for the early-2009 five-match ODI tour of Sri Lanka, but was not entrusted with a match until India took an unbeatable 3–0 lead. He took four wickets at 28.25 in two matches, but was again expensive, conceding 7.06 runs an over. However, he ended the tour on a high note when he combined with half-brother Yusuf in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand that saw India to a three-wicket win in the T20 international after a late flurry; Irfan ended on 33 not out. Pathan returned to India and took 3/50 and scored 51 not out in his only domestic one-dayer for Baroda during the season, which ended in a win, before leaving for the limited overs leg of a tour to New Zealand.

Pathan had a poor time in New Zealand. In the two T20 internationals preceding the ODIs, he took 0/38 and 2/41, conceding his runs at an alarming economy rate of 11.28. He was left out of all five ODIs during the tour before heading home. He then played in all 14 of Punjab's round-robin matches in the 2009 Indian Premier League held in South Africa, taking 17 wickets at 22.94 with an economy rate of 7.74, and scored 196 runs at 19.60. He started strongly, taking nine wickets in four matches in the early stages of the tournament, before taking only two in the next five matches, and ending with six in the last three fixtures. Punjab failed to make the semi-finals.

Pathan's performances in the IPL were enough for him to retain his position in the national T20 team after his performances in New Zealand, and he then proceeded to the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England in June, where India were seeking to defend their title. He struggled in the warm-up matches, totalling 1/49 in five overs, and again in the first round of matches, bowling five overs and conceding 42 runs without success. Nevertheless, India defeated both Bangladesh and Ireland to move into the next round. He took 1/9 from two overs in the loss to the West Indies in the Super 8 round, and was left out for the remaining two matches, which India lost to be eliminated.

Since then, Pathan was dropped from the limited overs team and was then injured for an extended period, until he made his return to cricket in the Ranji Trophy in November. He played in six matches for Baroda as captain and was successful with both bat and ball, scoring 397 runs at 49.62 and taking 22 wickets at 18.54. In his most productive first-class season with the bat, Pathan made starts in eight of his nine innings, only failing to reach 24 once, and scoring four fifties, although he was unable to convert any to triple figures. In his fourth match of the season, Pathan top-scored in both innings with 68 and 81 as Baroda lost to Karnataka by an innings after making 153 and 223. He then took a total of 7/76 and scored 65 not out to secure a seven-wicket win over Saurashtra, and then totalled 7/96 in a seven-wicket triumph over Maharashtra. However, these performances were not enough to earn Pathan a Test recall. Furthermore, on 25 February 2010 the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its list of 30 probables for the T20 World Cup to be held in the West Indies, the most notable omission being Irfan Pathan.

Pathan took 5/100 in the first innings of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. His fifth wicket brought up his 300th scalp at first-class level. After cricket was engulfed in a series of corruption scandals in September 2010, Pathan told the media that he had received "three expensive gifts in his room" and, later, two further gifts that he could not afford. Pathan reported this to the team management as he thought the gifts might be from a bookmaker.