SPORTS WINGER

Y Pathan
India

Full name Yusuf Pathan
Born Nov 17, 1982
Major teams India
Batting style right
Bowling style Right Arm off break
Teams played for India

Profile
Yusuf Pathan always harbored a dream of making it to the national squad, a place which came faster to his younger half-brother Irfan Pathan. A hard-hitting batsman, who wastes no time while at the crease and a handy off-spinner, the younger Pathan was a hit in the Indian domestic Twenty20 and Deodhar Trophies. He will always consider himself lucky for his rare International debut which came in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 when India won. Pathan played the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals where he emerged one of the most successful players of the tournament with both the bat and ball. He scored the fastest half-century of the IPL in 21 balls and was a hit for consistently scoring runs at a brisk rate, relying mostly on boundaries. His success in the IPL led to a berth in the national squad.





Career Statistics

ODI Debut: vs Pakistan, On Jun 10, 2008 at Bangabandhu Stadium, Bangladesh
Last ODI played: vs England, On Nov 23, 2008 at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, India
Test Debut: vs ..Not Decided
Last Test played: vs ..Not Decided
T20 Debut: vs Pakistan, On Sep 24, 2007 at The Wanderers Stadium, South Africa

Full Name: Irfan Khan Pathan
Born: October 27, 1984, Baroda, Gujarat
Major teams: India, Baroda, Middlesex
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm medium-fast

One-Days
Batting - Matches: 92 | Runs: 1243 | Avg: 23.90 | HS: 83 | 100s: 0 | 50s: 5
Bowling - Wkts Taken: 134 | Avg: 28.12 | Econ: 5.11

Tests
Batting - Matches: 28 | Runs: 1041 | Avg: 29.74 | HS: 102 | 100s: 1 | 50s: 6
Bowling - Wkts Taken: 100 | Avg: 31.41 | Econ: 3.27



Twenty20 Match
Batting - Matches: 21 | Runs: 142 | Avg: 14.20 | HS: 26 | 100s: 0 | 50s: 0
Bowling - Wkts Taken: 27 | Avg: 18.07 | Econ: 7.07

Achievements:First bowler to take a hat-trick in the first over of a Test match (first by an Indian in away match); ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2004

In his short international career, Irfan Pathan has shown promise of becoming the world-class all-rounder India have been looking for since the great Kapil Dev.

Pathan made his Test debut in Australia in 2003-04 following his impressive outing in the Under-19 Asian Championship in Pakistan. He quickly gained a reputation for providing India with vital breakthroughs and carried his good form to the subsequent VB ODI series as well, emerging as the highest wicket-taker.

Pathan's ODI performance has been particularly outstanding, quite often making early inroads into opposition batting line-ups. The bulk of this early success can be attributed to the most lethal weapon in Pathan's armory-the inswinger that nips back into the right-hand batsman catching him plumb in front of the wicket. Pathan is also capable of reverse swinging the old ball.

Apart from his bowling heroics, Pathan's more-than-useful batting skills have provided vital balance to the team. His first stint at No.3 position resulted in a spectacular 83 against Sri Lanka at Nagpur and since then, Pathan has made several useful knocks batting at the top order.

Like Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and RP Singh, he is a left arm medium-fast bowler. His main strength is the ball that curves back into the right-hander. As soon as he made his mark in international cricket, comparisions began to be made to the great Wasim Akram. This was because of the fact that their actions were similar. It was really unfair for Irfan to be compared to one of the greatest in the games at such an early stage in his career. But he soldiered on nonetheless and he played an instrumental part in India’s overseas win over Pakistan in 2004. India had found a new gem who could rattle even the most technically correct batsmen with his lethal swing. Experts such as Sandeep Patil also went on to say that Pathan could also be a regular number seven batsman in the Indian-lineup. This claim was not put to test until much later.

Pathan bowled his heart out on the field and success befriended him. he became the heart throb of the youth and endorsements followed. From a regular middle-class boy he became a national hero by the time he turned twenty. But Pathan still remains a down to earth fellow who has not let his success go to his head.

In late 2005, the first signs became evident that Pathan could transform into a great all rounder for India and could step into the shoes vacated by Kapil Dev. He cracked half century after half century against the Sri Lankans but the ton always eluded him. Although he has dropped some pace from his bowling and now bowls at around 125 km/hr, he is still a force to reckon with. A handy 65 against the Pakistanis has shown that his batting displays were no fluke. Irfan, the bowler, is also doing well and Irfan, the batsman, is showing promise.

In the test series against Pakistan, he became the first bowler in the history of cricket to pick up a hat-trick in the first over of the game. With the bat, Pathan sparkled and played gorgous drives and cuts. He is now emerging as a genuine replacement to Kapil Dev. May God bless this all-rounder and help him to achieve previously unheard -of glories in the world of cricket.............

Zaheer Khan appeals unsuccessfully for an lbw against Alastair Cook , India v England, 2nd Test, Mohali, 3rd day, December 21, 2008

Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan take part in a practice session a day before Mumbai's Ranji Trophy semi-final against Saurashtra, Chennai, January 3, 2008

Zaheer Khan
india

players profile


Full name Zaheer Khan
Born October 7, 1978, Shrirampur, Maharashtra
Current age 30 years 89 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Asia XI, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Baroda, Mumbai, Surrey, Worcestershire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm fast-medium




Profile



Like Waqar Younis a decade before, Zaheer Khan yorked his way into the collective consciousness of the cricket world: his performances at the ICC Knockout Trophy in Kenya in September 2000 announced the arrival of an all-too-rare star in the Indian fast-bowling firmament. He might just as easily have come from the Pakistani pace stable: well-built, quick and unfazed by a batsman's reputation, Zaheer could move the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at some pace. After initially struggling to establish himself as a new-ball bowler, he came of age on the 2002 tour of the West Indies, when he led the line with great heart. His subsequent displays in England and New Zealand - not to mention some eye-catching moments at the World Cup - established him at the forefront of India's new pace generation, but a hamstring injury saw him relegated to bit-part performer as Indian cricket scripted some of its finest moments away in Australia and Pakistan. After that, his pace has dropped and his attitude was questioned, as a new breed of pace bowlers pushed him aside to move to the front of the queue. Zaheer's response was to head to Worcestershire and take 78 wickets in the 2006 county season, a performance that earned him a recall for the tour of South Africa. He was the perfect foil for Sreesanth there, and he then regained his status as leader of the pack with a matchwinning display at Trent Bridge, as India won only their fifth Test on English soil.
Dileep Premachandran