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NEWS India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006>How life has a come a full circle for Irfan Pathan 14th July 2006 22.36 IST By Manish Kumar From being the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack to being dropped for three Tests in the West Indies , life seems to have come a full circle for Irfan Pathan . Pathan became the toast of the nation when in his debut season as a 19-year old in Australia , he dismissed batting stalwarts such as Matthew Lawrence Hayden , Stephen Rodger Waugh and Adam Gilchrist and then was considered by many as the most talented swing and seam bowler to emerge from India since Kapil Dev.
Pathan’s spell in the final match of the series was arguably his best performance in ODI cricket. His trademark weapon is an inswinger, which darts into a right-hand batsman, and he also has the ability to reverse swing the old ball. Greg Chappell identified Pathan’s batting potential and started developing him into an all-rounder, as part of a reallocation of responsibilities. With his strong fast bowlers physique, Pathan has the ability to strike the ball long and clean. Pathan was used as both an opener and a top order batsman in late 2005 in one-day cricket, making 83 runs at more than a run a ball against Sri Lanka in a Test match. He also proved his enhanced batting skills by scoring 82 and 93 against Sri Lanka, opening the batting in the December 2005 New Delhi Test, when regular opener Virender Shewag was hospitalised with illness. Along with Mahendra Dhoni , Pathan saved the Faisalabad Test in January 2006 for India by scoring 90 runs. Pathan then took a hat trick in the first over of the Karachi Test against Pakistan becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match. It was also the highest in terms of total averages of the batsmen dismissed (130.18: Salman Butt 34.27, Younis Khan 46.04, Mohammad Yousuf ( Yousuf Youhana 49.86). This was also the first hat-trick by an Indian fast bowler and the first hat-trick for any Indian bowler in an away match. Ironically, India lost the match by a mammoth 341 runs, but Pathan’s performances in the ODI series against Pakistan played a vital role in clinching the series in a convincing fashion. Cut to the 2006 West Indies tour and one realises how things have changed. The so-called experts first said Pathan had lost his swing, then his pace, and after the forgettable ODI series in West Indies, he lost a place in the Test XI and going by Chappell’s words his confidence too. Now, his 67 wickets in 25 Tests too are being freshly scrutinised and fingers are being pointed to his 39 scalps against minnows — Bangladesh and Zimbabwe . While Pathan’s batting is vital for the Indian team, experts feel that it is this extra burden of padding up minutes after a longish bowling spell that gives the potential all-rounder a jaded look. According to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, fast bowlers increase their risk of injury when they bowl more than 20-30 overs a week. There are two important aspects that put things in perspective and to a degree explain his dip in form. Experts feel that Pathan’s batting adds to his extra burden and subsequently he overshoots the standard exertion barrier. And the reason why he hasn’t he broken down is that he isn’t a fast bowler anymore as his average speed of 125 to 130 kmph makes him a military medium pacer. Chappell, who publicly said that the all-rounder was not considered because he had lost his confidence, would do well to realise that the mindset of the Indian fast bowlers has insecurity as its core in spite of the tremendous hard work put in by them to reach the top. Back from the West Indies, the disheartened Pathan must be wondering what he should do to regain his lost confidence. Chappell publicly announced that Pathan was not considered as he had lost confidence and, bound by the BCCI contract, Pathan has not uttered a word in his defence. Chappell has to assess the mindset of an Indian fast bowler, which is quite different from the mindset of fast bowlers from other countries, and if Chappell has not realized this in one year then he probably never will. It is a mindset, which has insecurity as its core in spite of the tremendous hard work that the bowlers have put in to reach the top. Indian fast bowlers have to frequently bowl on dead pitches and run on hard outfields. There is hardly any recovery period and no rehabilitation centres to get them fit, and when one does succeed, like Pathan did at the age of 19, to understand that person's mindset and nurture it becomes a full-time job. No matter how talented you are, if your coach has no confidence in you, you can't produce results. And when a coach announces a player's problem publicly, not all Indian players are capable of digesting it. It's time the BCCI reviews the roles of support staff. If the problem of getting fast bowlers to bowl effectively still persists, then there should be technically sound and experienced Indian coaches to assist Chappell rather than leaving it to people who are not at all qualified to do the job. Also View In-Depth Coverage: India-South Africa-Sri Lanka Tri Series 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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