INDIAN CRICKTERS: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan biography

Irfan Pathan (born Irfan Khan on October 27, 1984 in Baroda, Gujarat) is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since late 2003. Beginning his career as a left-arm fast-medium swing bowler (evoking comparisons with Pakistan's Wasim Akram), Pathan improved his batting skills to become a bowling all-rounder, even opening the batting on occasions. This led to critics comparing him with former Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev. The improvement in his batting also coincided in a steady loss of pace and bowling form. After opening both the batting and bowling in late 2005 and early 2006, Pathan was dropped from the team in both Test and One Day International (ODI) forms of the game by the end of 2006 and by 2007 was no longer in the squad. He returned to international cricket in September 2007 for the inaugural World Twenty20, where he took three wickets and was man of the match as India beat Pakistan in the final.

Irfan Pathan