Yet again from the iSport IPL Paddock, iSporter Akshay Iyer pens his views on how Yusuf Pathan is a one of a kind player! Read on as Akshay chalks out the many laurels the older Pathan is associated with.
When he was named in India’s Twenty20 World Cup squad in 2007, for most cricket fans in India, Yusuf Pathan was Irfan Pathan’s elder brother. While Irfan played a crucial role in India’s triumph in South Africa, Yusuf played only in the final and flattered to deceive before getting out cheaply!
Yusuf had already made a name for himself in India’s domestic circuit as the Baroda all-rounder who hit the ball a long way before being named in the T20 World Cup squad. Though Yusuf didn’t show this trait in the only knock he played in that tournament, the world would soon get a first-hand view of the 'damage' if I may say so that he is capable of.
Rajasthan Royals signed Yusuf Pathan for $475,000 before the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. Yusuf had a good domestic season in 2007-08, and the Royals would have been expecting him to carry his good form into IPL-1. And he did just that! Yusuf entertained us all as he hit some massive sixes and played a crucial role in the Royals’ march to victory!
Yusuf scored 435 runs, including four half-centuries at a strike rate of 179, for the Royals in the inaugural season of the IPL. This elder Pathan also scored the fastest 50 of the IPL’s first season, reaching the landmark in only 21 balls in a match against Deccan Chargers, to live up to his reputation of scoring runs at a fast clip! He also played an important part in the Royals’ win in the final of IPL-1 against Chennai Super Kings taking 3-22 and scoring 56 (39 balls) in his team’s successful run chase. As he had done in some previous matches, Yusuf had to rescue the Royals from a tricky situation in the final of IPL-1 and he did so with aplomb and was a picture of serenity at the crease!
Yusuf’s impressive performance in IPL-1 earned him a berth in India’s ODI squad for the tri-series in Bangladesh and the Asia Cup in Pakistan. In the chances that he got to bat in the middle, Yusuf carried on for India from where he had left off in IPL-1. Though he didn’t enjoy as much success in IPL-2 as he had in IPL-1, he still finished as Royals’ second-highest run scorer with 243 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 133. While he enjoyed a decent run of form in one-day internationals for a while, Yusuf paid the price for playing one too many rash shots at the most inopportune of times and a run of patchy scores proved to be the final blow and he was dropped from India’s ODI squad.
Rather than being discouraged on being dropped, Yusuf worked on his game and continued to score runs on the domestic circuit. And, the icing on the cake came in the Duleep Trophy final, where playing for West Zone against South Zone, Yusuf scored 108 and 210* (190 balls). Yusuf’s double century in the fourth innings helped West Zone overhaul a target of 536 – the highest chase in first-class cricket.
Following this stupendous knock, Yusuf was called upon yet again onto India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against South Africa. Off the pitch, Yusuf comes across as shy and soft-spoken. But, give him a bat and Yusuf turns into a weapon of mass destruction for whichever team he plays for. The Royals will surely be hoping that Yusuf continues his rich run of form in recent months, and proves to be as destructive in IPL-3 as he was in the first season.
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