India all-rounder Irfan Pathan announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Saturday, thus, bringing an end to a career that never took off despite incredible promise. Pathan, who last played an international game for India in 2012, announced that he will no longer play any form of cricket via a live session on Twitter.
The 35-year-old's retirement was on expected lines, considering he last played a competitive game in February 2019 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy for Jammu and Kashmir.
He did not even put himself in the IPL auction pool, last month.
The left-arm seamer's bowling was like a breath of fresh air when he made his India debut against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.
He never had express pace but his natural ability to swing the ball into the right-handers got him instant success, also drawing comparisons with the great Kapil Dev.
It seemed India had found the all-rounder they were looking for since Kapil left the scene.
The 35-year-old represented India in 29 Tests, taking 100 wickets and scoring 1105 runs. He also played 120 ODIs, picking up 173 wickets and scoring 1544 runs in the 50-over format. In the shortest format of the game, he represented India 24 times, picking up 28 wickets and scoring 172 runs.
Pathan won the inaugural World T20 with India in 2007.
One of his best performances came on the tour of Pakistan in 2006 when he became the second Indian after Harbhajan Singh to take a Test hat-trick, removing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf during the Karachi game.
He also played a big role in India winning a Test match against Australia on a tough Perth wicket, which offered steep bounce.
Injuries and lack of form troubled him thereafter and his ability to swing the ball deteriorated.
