Irfan Pathan, who wasn’t expected to play any part in the Test series,will be heading back to India later this week in order to play two RanjiTrophy matches in a bid to regain some semblance of bowling form

Dileep Premachandran in Durban25-Dec-2006

‘We don’t see Irfan playing a part for us in this series, but he’s a very importantpart of the team in the near and long-term future’ – Rahul Dravid on Irfan Pathan © Getty Images
Irfan Pathan, who wasn’t expected to play any part in the Test series,will be heading back to India later this week to play two RanjiTrophy matches in a bid to regain some semblance of bowling form. Pathan’sdisplays with the ball have been little short of disastrous in recentmonths, and the team management felt that some time away and matchpractice would be the best remedy ahead of the eight one-day matchesscheduled for January and February against West Indies and Sri Lanka.”Irfan Pathan is a really important member for us leading into the WorldCup, and leading into a lot of tournaments that we have,” said RahulDravid explaining the decision to send home a man who took a hat-trickwhile opening the bowling in a Test match less than a year ago. “Irfan’snot getting as much cricket as we hoped in this series and we’ve discussedit with him, with the coaching staff and with the chairman of selectors.We feel it’s in Irfan’s best interests that he goes back and plays RanjiTrophy games on the 2nd and 10th before the start of the one-day series inIndia.”Pathan’s last foray in South Africa was a dismal one, with 74 runsconceded in 11 overs against a Kwazulu-Natal Invitation XI. With MunafPatel coming back into contention after an ankle injury, Pathan’s chancesof making the team dwindled significantly. “Munaf has recovered reallywell, so we have that cover in terms of medium-pace back-up,” said Dravid.”We feel that it’s in Irfan’s best interests that he goes back. If he wentback after this tour, he would get only one game.”He himself feels that he needs to have some bowling. And we, the coachingstaff and senior management group, feel that he is too important for us.We need to get him right, and one of the is to get him to playsome cricket.”When asked whether his lack of rhythm and consistency in the warm-up gamehad been a factor in the decision, Dravid said: “It wasn’t only thetwo-day game. Obviously, we had to ensure that we had enough back-up.Munaf wasn’t fully fit so we couldn’t risk anyone going back at thatstage. But with only one match to go, we have sufficient back-up. We don’tsee Irfan playing a part for us in this series, but he’s a very importantpart of the team in the near and long-term future.”

‘Away from the media spotlight and the relentless scrutiny, Pathan willsurely rediscover his bowling mojo’ © Getty Images
Dravid stressed that there would be no replacement, and suggested thatPathan had plenty of time to make the adjustments that will allow him tocome back a better and wiser bowler. “He can take confidence from thefact that he’s young,” he said. “He’s 22 and he’s not the only one ininternational cricket who’s had to go through something like this. Abowler like Stephen Harmison had to go through something like this duringthe Ashes series, struggling really badly. It can happen, especially whenyou’re young.”According to Dravid, time in the middle was the best remedy. “In Irfan’scase, he went through a similar period in the home series against Pakistan[2004-05],” he said. “I remember he struggled a bit. But he went toEngland and played a lot of county cricket [for Middlesex], bowled a lotof overs. I think that was a sort of catalyst in bringing him back to thesort of form and rhythm that he’s capable of bowling at. Keeping in mindthat, he needs a lot of bowling in match situations, we’ve taken thisdecision to give him enough games in the lead up to the World Cup.”Away from the media spotlight and the relentless scrutiny, Pathan will have the chance to focus on his current shortcomings and rediscover his bowling mojo. His pedigree has never been in doubt. After all, how many 22-year-old can point to 91 Test wickets and 114one-day scalps in a career that has already encompassed a Test-matchhat-trick?