Irfan Pathan announces retirement from all formats of cricket: Team India’s 2007 T-20 World Cup hero Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on Saturday, reports said. The swanky left-arm pacer was a key member of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 winning squad of Team India.
Calling time on his career, Irfan Pathan told reporters that he was fortunate to share the dressing room with greats of the game like Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Rahul Dravid. Apart from that, Pathan thanked his family members and fans for their undying support as they encouraged him to keep going.
In 2004, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Pathan as the Emerging Player of the Year after the pacer helped India register a thumping victory against arch-rival Pakistan in ODI match. Many cricket aficionados compared Pathan with Pakistan’s Wasim Akram while some others equalled him with Team India’s Kapil Dev for his accurate swing delivery after he took a hat-trick during the Test match between India vs Pakistan in Karachi in 2006.
In September 2007, Irfan scalped three wickets and was selected as the Man of the Match as India beat Pakistan in the inaugural World Twenty20 final. Due to Irfan’s superior bowling performance, Team India defeated Pakistan by 5 runs in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Final in Johannesburg.
However, as a batsman, Pathan doesn’t sound promising. He has scored a total of 2,821 runs including a single century and 11 half-centuries.
The 35-year-old cricketer, who has played 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is for India in a career that spanned over 15 years, last played a competitive game in February 2019 during Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.
Currently, Irfan is the mentor-cum-coach for the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Team.
