One of the most simply fierce words in the English dictionary is “Comeback.”

The word comeback is such a fascinating word, which can spur a kaleidoscope of emotions within a human mind. Even the utterance of that word, subconsciously gives me a sense of power, grit, assurance & resolve. Comeback is a very close knit word when it comes to sports. A comeback in life obviously scores more than a comeback in sports. But when a person’s life is sport, any opportunity of a comeback seems larger than life. Often in such a situation, the player gets caught in a cusp between reliving his passion & the pressure to perform. Cricketer, Irfan Pathan, is in a similar situation at the moment, in what is tipped to be one of the most anticipated comebacks in recent years for Indian cricket.

Irfan was born in Baroda, and had a big family to support him. His family lived his dreams inspite of a very income low income line then. Though they wanted him to become an Islamic scholar, he & his bhai  Yusuf Pathan, were caught by cricket fever. His father led the prayers in the mosque, as his profession. The pathan family is a very god-trusting & disciplined family. People around him, would laugh at the antics of this pair of cricket crazy brothers, who trained day in & day out, irrespective of the heat of the weather & relatives. But Irfan used to trust his passion & believed that it could take him to represent the nation.   

After some terrific domestic performances, his dream after all did come true. Irfan was just 19 years old when he made his debut for India in the 2003-04, in the down-under series. With a very quick & whippy action, he made his presence felt during his very first game. The spring-haired lad was very rightly compared with the early days of the sultan of swing, Wasim Akram. Irfan’s ‘banana swing’ was a very potent weapon, which seldom came across the Indian fast bowling scene then. One could never forget the swinging Yorker that dismantled the stumps of Adam Gilchrist in Australia. That one delivery drew a lot of appreciation & made heads turn towards him in the cricketing fraternity.  He did not waste his opportunity, unlike many of his fast bowling predecessors did. India was overjoyed to find a gem, who could later be identified as a spearhead of the Indian attack, especially on foreign grounds. Every time a wicket falls, his smiles were adorable & celebrations were audacious.  

 His rise in stature looked flawless, as he got his batting going good as well. Irfan, who always wanted be a batsman who could smash the ball to various parts of the ground, took his batting seriously. He was a very useful lower order batsman who had the mind of a top-order bat. His methodical approach towards batting caught the attention of the then coach, Greg Chappel. Greg’s belief on pathan’s batting ability saw him open the batting for India in a test, where Sehwag was unable to take the field due to an illness. To the world’s surprise, he scored an innings of 90 which had a perfect mix of caution, aggression & luck. Following that innings, he was beginning to hone his batting skills and was considered a true all-rounder. His consistent show with both bat and the ball, earned him comparisons between him & Kapil dev.

His standout achievement in the famous India - Pakistan series saw him being the first & only person to claim a hattrick in the first over of a test match. All were peaches & left the batsmen clueless, with the “What-hit-me? “expression on their faces. Still India went on to lose that test match (Only possible by India!)  

India’s quest for an all rounder seemed successful. But during the 2006-07 season, he flattered to deceive. With a 4 year burst for India, he lost his pace & way. Though he was able to score runs, he just couldn’t maintain his bowling rhythm. He had lost considerable amount of pace & was an on-and-off member of the Indian squad. His military medium pace was highly criticized & his line- length was very unsettled. In my view he might have taken his place for granted or a bit easy after the meteorically high he had got in those 4 years. But still he is one of those players where you seriously want him to perform & have great belief on, irrespective of his performances. Beyond a point his services came to an abrupt end. Though he was part of the T20 WC winning team & was adjudged the man of the match in the finals, it was that period when a flurry of fast bowlers were produced and were having a stiff race between them in the likes of Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, R.PSingh, & veteran Zaheer khan. He played his last test & ODI in the years 2008 & 2009 respectively.

During this period was the emergence of IPL. Though it was something for him to be happy about, that was the time where talents from all over the nation began to unearth. He was in a precarious situation to perform and not get lost between the local talent pool. The young guns began to step up, and all of a sudden, India had options even for the bench. It was that time, when the critics had ruled out Irfan pathan as an option for the national team.  He was replaced by his big brother Yusuf Pathan, though inconsistent can still win matches single handedly with brutal power. But Irfan was never down & never out. He still continued to fight the odds with his growing age. Guess 27 is the perfect age to stage a dramatic & long lasting comeback.

Irfan Pathan was always at the corner of the selectors eyes. He just needed to perform consistently well in a domestic season. With the much famed bench strength, kind of falling like a pack of cards, due to inconsistency & injury woes, Irfans’ comeback is much more magnified. Why Irfan pathans’s comeback is worth the weight of gold, is that it gives the much needed pivot to the lower order & the bowling department. Though R.Jadeja is now being able to fulfill it to a near best, his addition gives more variety and option for the Indian team. He can be toggled anywhere in the batting line up & his bowling can be switched according to the conditions, with both the new ball & the old ball. The new Irfan has improved on his pace a few yards & consistency with guile has been the reason for his comeback. With 6 specialist batsman, 3 bowlers & 2 all-rounders , he could be the 3^rd all-rounder who provides the much needed dexterity required in the lower order. Having said this, on a personal note, he should have still figured in the squad which is going to be touring Australia – the place where he made his mark.

The pathan brothers have always usual suspects of the Indian team. But these 2 games, however inconsequential it may be, still is a great opportunity for Irfan to cement his place in the squad. More than the happiness of himself, he could do it for a family who have lived their lives for their children and have been the pillars of support for what they are now. His family’s faith on him and his faith on god has not gone waste & he should make sure he doesn’t waste it.

Another person who’s helped him on his way to a comeback is Pace guru, TA.Shekar of the MRF pace foundation. Irfan dedicates his comeback to the veteran, where he says that the wrist position & rhythm were corrected in order to get back his lost swing.  His Ranji season so far has been terrific.  It was terrific enough to earn him a recall to the Indian team and is certain to play the 4^th ODI.  

“It makes every second of the struggle worthwhile. You feel blessed when your hard work is rewarded. The dream to play for the country has always been there. When it is fulfilled, you feel nothing gets better than this. Having all the luxuries in life — having a big car, big house — nothing comes close to this,” said pathan in one of his recent interviews. His genuinity has been his trademark.  I really wish he makes full use of his comeback & understands why Team India & Irfan Pathan is mutually interdependent. Insha Allah, he comes out trumps!