Irfan Pathan is back in the IPL fold and boy, is he happy about it. Having got used to being in and out of the Indian squads, the IPL was his baby and that of his brother Yusuf
Irfan Pathan
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Irfan Pathan is back in the IPL fold and boy, is he happy about it. Having got used to being in and out of the Indian squads, the IPL was his baby and that of his brother Yusuf.
But at the auction prior to this season, though his name did the rounds twice, no team owner raised the paddle. Overnight that changed with the Gujarat Lions bringing him in after Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the tournament.
A little over halfway into the 10th season of the IPL, both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Lions have won just two games apiece while losing five each. RCB, who host Gujarat tonight at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, are ahead by a single point and are two places above the Lions on the table.
"It's like I'm coming back from the dead," said Irfan, talking to the media here on the eve of the match against RCB.
"It's wonderful," he added. "When you don't get picked it's disappointing. Even if it's halfway stage of the tournament or the fag end, it's really wonderful to get picked. Hopefully I will get an opportunity and play."
Irfan, touted as a great talent when he started, last played for India in 2012 but since then a series of injuries as also a loss of form served to keep him away from the spotlight. "I'm not complaining. Even sometimes, I wonder why (his career has swung one way and the other)," said Irfan. "The best thing a sportsperson could do is to look forward. You need to make the most of the moment right now, not look back too much. That's what I've learned with experience as well. The experience I gathered in so many years of cricket — playing domestic cricket, playing international cricket, different teams in IPL as well, will stay with me forever. Hopefully it will help me in someway. But when you look back, you do wonder (why I haven't played more) but sometimes you don't have the answers. But as I said, it's done and dusted and most importantly I'm focussed on the present."
Well, he has been given another lifeline and its up to him to grab it.
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